Many lives have been turned upside down since the media reported that the National Registration Department is not doing enough to comply with a Fatwa Council Ruling regarding adopted children.

This is then followed by a statement by the home minister saying adopted children should not carry the adopted father's names.

The truth of the matter is that the people who adopt are unfortunate couples who cannot have children. They have been married a long time and have tried all sorts of clinical procedures and

still fail to have children on their own.

The truth of the matter is that mothers who give away their babies have no choice but to do so.

Most of them are not married and were abandoned by their boyfriends. Shouldn't we show compassion to these people?

Adopted children do not have birth certificates. After a period of fostering of two years, the birth certificates are withdrawn and adoption certificates are issued. On the new certificate, the names

of the adopted child, adopted mother and adopted father are entered.

In order to make life easier for the child and to thwart off unpleasant questions when the child enters school, often the child is named with the adopted father's name coupled to the child's name

eg, child's name Abdul Halim Jeffri after adopted father's name which is Jeffri Bin Mohamad.

In the Central Register, the father's name would be stated as ‘Not Available’. In school, teachers would write his name as Abdul Halim Jeffri Bin Abdullah. And so shall it be when he gets his MyKad.

Now the home minister wants ‘Jeffri’ removed and in it's place a ‘Bin Abdullah’ in accordance to the Fatwa. This in effect means teachers and everybody else can tell who the illegitimate children are.

Isn't this the unkindest thing to do to a child who is brimming with excitement to start school?

I was made to understand the Fatwa Council is worried that child would be called Abdul Halim Bin Jeffri. Why the obsession with the word Bin? Indonesia has 200 millions Muslims and yet they use one word name, eg Suharto. There are more Muslims in China than Muslims Malays and yet they do not use ‘Bin’.

Are they trying to say Muslim Malays are more religious than Indonesian and Chinese Muslims?

Using the term son of/daughter of ie Bin/Binti is an Arab thing so why should we try to be Arabs when we are distinctly different from them?

The birth certificate is a legal document, just like police reports and post-mortem reports. The birth certificate gives the child an identity and helps the government plan schools and hospitals.

Now the NRD scrutinises marriage certificates and if the child is thought to be conceived out of wedlock, the father's name is not entered. This even though the father is standing in front of the

registrar claiming the child is his.

The child is automatically named Bin/Binti Abdullah. Many a father has cried at not seeing his name in his child's birth certificate.

The NRD should not be controlled by the Fatwa Council. The Fatwa Council should stick to matters of religion. Or will they tell doctors how to do a post-mortem next ?

Please, let there be common sense and compassion. There is everything wrong with this ruling.

Unless this ruling is revised, in 15 years there will be a lot of teenagers with bitterness and hatred in their hearts.

The government should be prepared to build a lot of juvenile facilities. For the time being, there are a lot of exasperated and unhappy parents. We can forget about a developed nation status in

2020. Failed state status is more likely.