[1] At the request of the learned counsel for the appellants, we are withholding the real names of the appellants to protect the identity of the 1st appellant, who was born illegitimate to the 3rd appellant. In the High Court, the 1st appellant filed the judicial review application through his next friends, the 2nd and 3rd appellants.

[2] The premise of judicial review is that the entity seized with a legal power has breached the limits upon the grant of that power. Every power must have legal limits, otherwise there is dictatorship: Pengarah Tanah Dan Galian Wilayah Persekutuan v. Sri Lempah Enterprise Sdn Bhd , 1978 MarsdenLR 384 per Raja Azlan Shah Ag CJM (as His late Royal Highness then was).

[3] This appeal concerns the question whether the Director General of National Registration (2nd respondent) has power under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 ("the BDRA") to ascribe the patronymic surname of "bin Abdullah" to an illegitimate Muslim child in place of his father's name and against his wish. Legal technicalities aside, the issue involves the question whether an innocent child should be subjected to humiliation, embarrassment and public scorn for the rest of his l