Kota Kinabalu: The State Government has neither initiated nor proposed any amendments to the Sabah’s Births and Deaths Ordinance Cap. 123 to automatically allow Statutory Declarations (SDs) on late birth registrations as valid, said Sabah Attorney-General Datuk Brenndon Keith Soh.
He said the Ordinance is a State law declared Federal, and it is Federal through the National Registration Department (NRD) that is proposing the amendments and had sought the views of the State Government.
However, the State Government has not given any official reply on these proposed amendments.
“I had already issued a letter to the National Registration Department (NRD) (JPN) on November 12, 2024 to confirm the State’s position.
Our Forum report on Nov 24.
“Specifically, that we will only give our comments to the NRD’s proposed amendments to the Births and Deaths Ordinance Cap. 123 after we receive official feedback/response from the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in light of NRD’s suggestion to delete Section 22(3) of the Sabah’s Births and Deaths Ordinance Cap 123.
“We had on the same day sent a letter to the Registrar of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak seeking their views and expect a reply imminently,” he told Daily Express.
“We also issued another letter dated Nov 20, 2024 to NRD to reiterate that any response from the State regarding the proposed amendments will be subject to the State Cabinet’s decision,” he said.
Brenndon was commenting on calls for the State Government to clarify its position on the move to amend the Sabah’s Births and Deaths Ordinance Cap. 123.
On Nov. 20, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah was quoted saying that the government is planning to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Ordinance Cap. 123 to update and align its provisions to the NRD’s current administrative system.
Dr Shamsul said that since its enforcement on March 1, 1951, the Ordinance, declared a federalised Sabah law, has never been amended, rendering some of its provisions irrelevant to NRD’s current administrative system.
He was quoted as saying there are 35 sections to be amended, 48 new sections to be included, 28 sections to remain unchanged and 13 sections or subsections to be repealed.
“The constitutional amendments relate to citizenship, approved on Oct. 17, also require Ordinance Cap. 123 to be reviewed and amended for relevant matters,” Dr Shamsul reportedly told a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov. 19, 2024.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Warisan Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis on whether the government plans to amend Ordinance Cap. 123 to address citizenship issues in Sabah and the justification for this move.
Former Senator Dr Chong Eng Leong also drew attention in Daily Express Forum (Nov. 24) to Section 22(3) of the Birth and Deaths Registration Ordinance CAP. 123 which presently means if someone registers a birth late, the document is marked as “Late Registration” and requires proof in court (by a Magistrate) to verify it.
However, Section 22(3) is to be amended to make late birth registration documents automatically valid without the need for court (magistrate) verification.
Dr Chong, a Warisan member, said the proposed amendment eliminates the role of Magistrates in verifying the accuracy of birth information, relying instead on mere statutory declarations.
He questioned the need for the sudden change (proposed amendments to the Sabah’s Birth and Deaths Ordinance (CAP.123) and whether it is to legalise the questionable or undocumented births since Sabah, which has seen a significant rise in late birth registrations over the years.
For example, 300,000 late birth registrations in 1992 and 740,381 by 2006.
Dr Chong said the proposed move could lead to abuses, especially in areas with questionable registrations.
He also questioned whether Dr Shamsul was lying in parliament when replying to the Kota Belud MP that the “Sabah Attorney-General has no objection to the matter”.
“According to the Sessions Court Judge (Sabah), the current AG had never consented the intended amendment. The Deputy Minister is lying then – why?,” asked Dr Chong.
Nevertheless, Brenndon said NRD had been duly reminded and it is on record that the State Cabinet had never granted official approval for the proposed amendments.
“After we receive official views from the Judiciary, we will bring this matter to the attention of the State Cabinet who will then make a decision on this matter.
“Thereafter, we will communicate this decision to National Registration Department (NRD) and the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.
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