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COMMENT | The "bin Abdullah" issue has reared its ugly head again. Being born out-of-wedlock is the latest concern to be made political; but this is Malaysia, where religion is the tool used by individuals, institutions, political parties and the government to control the people.

The "bin Abdullah" tag is like a badge of bastardy.

Recently, a seven-year-old boy, and his parents, took the National Registration Department (NRD), its director-general and the government, to court, over the boy's surname.

Last week, the Court of Appeal ruled that the child could bear his father's name, and that the National Fatwa edict had no relevance, in law. Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli also wrote that the fatwa, was inapplicable, as it had not been passed into law, by an Act of Parliament.

Actually, children who are born out-of-wedlock are not the only ones who face the pressure and humiliation of the "bin Abdullah" issue. In the past, some Muslim children, who were adopted, had to use "bin" or "binti" Abdullah, instead of their adopted father's name.

Thus, others would know that these children had been adopted.
The first two stories below, are of those who bore the surname Abdullah. The NRD director, the Perak mufti, Harussani Zakaria, and members of the Muslim Lawyer's Association, all ignore the pain these people endure, and the trauma experienced in their formative years...

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