The DAP is ready to bring the national registration department (NRD) to court for rejecting a request by Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh and her husband Ramachandran Muniandy to register their daughter's race as 'Anak Malaysia'.

"DAP would give full support to Hannah and Ramachandran's quest for their child to be simply known as Malaysian.

NONE "If [they] both want to pursue in court, I have directed DAP national legal advisory committee chair and MP for Puchong Gobind Singh to handle the case," said the party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng ( right ) in a statement today.

Lim said that DAP is proud of the couple for living and practicing the party's Malaysian Malaysia and Malaysian First spirit.

"Forcing Hannah and Ramachandran to choose either Indian or Chinese is repugnant when they just want their child to be known as Malaysian.

"They have striven to let Malaysians see that we should never allow BN to corrupt young minds with obsolete and dangerous racist ideology that one's child is never good enough and must be forever dependant on the tongkat or that they will never be rewarded for their good performances no matter how deserving they are just because they come from a certain race," he added.

‘1Malaysia an empty slogan'

On Tuesday, the couple attempted to register their first daughter Shay Adora Ram's race as ' Anak Malaysia ' in her birth certificate.

However, NRD rejected the classification, saying that the couple can only choose either Chinese or Indian.

Yeoh eventually chose Chinese, but decided to write to both Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the NRD to appeal.

Yesterday NRD released a statement reiterating that the race of children must follow their parents.

Lim also pointed out that NRD's decision has made 1Malaysia another empty slogan.

"Clearly BN is so racist that being a Malay first, Chinese first or Indian first is more important than being a Malaysian first.

"By deliberately forcing us into ethnic boxes BN is not celebrating diversity nor creating a common Malaysian identity, but opportunistically playing divide and rule politics," added the Penang chief minister and Bagan MP.