Should a person who had undergone a sex re-assignment operation be allowed to change their gender in the identity card?

"Yes", said Prof Hamdan Adnan, a commissioner with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).

"If the person had gone through the operation, then the gender in the identity card should follow the current status, otherwise it will be very ridiculous," he told malaysiakini .

However, he also pointed to the need to conform to the requirement of one's religion, like Muslim transsexuals.

Only non-Muslims are allowed to undergo sex change operations in Malaysia. Muslims have been prohibited from doing so since 1983, when the Council of Rulers endorsed a fatwa (religious decree) against such operations, except for hermaphrodites.

The government has revealed that a majority of the 10,000 transvestites in the country are Malays, who are Muslims.

Hamdan said the state should not intervene if one want to go through the sex-change operation.

"If the doctor could verify that a person had gone through the operation, then this must also be taking into account," he said, adding that a few transsexuals have called him to complain about their plight.

Issue brought up

Transsexuals who had undergone sex re-assignment operations want the government to allow them to have their new status reflected in their identity cards. Their daily life interaction has become very difficult as the authorities has refused to change their gender status.

This includes dealings with the government departments and difficulty in purchasing health insurance, housing and bank loans or in legally adopting children.

Last week, Wong Chiou Yoong, a 33-year-old woman who had undergone a sex-change operation, failed to be declared a man as his bid was thrown out by the Ipoh High Court.

Wong filed the application last year to be declared a man after failed attempts to alter her birth certificate and identity card at the National Registration Department.

Hamdan also disclosed that the issue of transsexuals was discussed at the Suhakam meeting on Monday.

"We will study the law to see what recommendation we can bring up to help transsexuals and at the same time, conform with the Islamic belief," he said.