More cases of rejected attempts by parents to register their children with the National Registration Department as 'Anak Malaysia' have poured in.

NONE The latest case is that of Komtar assemblyperson Ng Wei Aik, who was dealt the same fate as his counterpart in Kuala Lumpur Hannah Yeoh yesterday when he registered the birth of his second daughter Ng Caryn.

Caryn, born on June 11, was registered by her parents as "Anak Malaysia" for race and "Belum Ada (none yet)" for religion.

But when the official birth certificate was issued to Ng, the two sections were written as "Chinese" for race and "Buddha" for religion.

Ng, who is political secretary to the Penang chief minister, is "speechless" that the NRD, without consultation and without his approval, has chosen the race and religion of his own child.

penang lodge mcmc report against blogger 210910 ng wei aik Rather than blaming the officer, Ng (right) targetted his complaint squarely at NRD's rigid system, expressing disbelief that his child was "ordained" a Buddhist when he clearly stated that she does not yet have a religion.

He was equally upset that Chinese was chosen as the child's race instead of Anak Malaysia.

"Why should she decide this for me? This is a serious matter...why we cannot have a choice for our own children, to register them as Anak Malaysia without a religion yet," he said.

"This is the spirit of 1Malaysia and should be encouraged. Our future generation should have the liberty and freedom to decide their own race and religion," he added.

Appealing against NRD's 'unethical act'

Responding to a Malaysiakini article yesterday highlighting that the NRD issued birth certificates without the ethnicity of the child between 1996 and 2000, Ng said it was not necessary to state those two elements.

The issue of ethnicity in birth certificate registration and other official forms was raised after Yeoh, Subang Jaya MP, failed to register her daughter's race as 'Anak Malaysia' earlier this month.

NONE Like in Ng's case, the NRD officer rejected the parents' request and chose 'Chinese' as the race of their daughter Shay Adora Ram.

The NRD has clarified that the race of the child must stem from either parent in a mixed marriage and that no 'mixed-race' registration is allowed.

Though he recognizes that he is ethnically Chinese, Ng still thinks he should be given the choice to select his own race as Anak Malaysia.

He said he was appealing against the "unethical act" of the NRD officer who, when asked, told him that a child must be registered according to the father's or mother's race and religion.

"Our system is outdated and corrupt until there is no flexibility for us to decide our own faith and religion," he said.

"I do not want to force my future generation to follow my race and religion...I do not want them to be like (those) who did not have a choice before" he added.

Being Chindian