My friend is a Malaysian with two grown up kids without their mother and any form of travel document except for their Malaysian-issued Birth Certificate.
I accompanied my friend to get a duplicate copy of his Malaysian marriage registration certificate with his foreign wife of a neighbouring country or a alternatively to register their marriage with our National Registration Department (JPN) so that he could process the Identity Card of his kids.
JPN was unable to trace his marriage registration in their computer system and was unable to register my friends marriage in their alternative as his said wife is no longer around as she had left him and their kids and went back to her country of origin some 10 years ago.
Instead, JPN referred us to the courts to seek a court declaration on the same via legal Aid Bureau.
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The legal Aid Bureau informed us that they are unable to represent us except to give legal advice by referring us to Sabah Law Society (SLS).
SLS gave us some printed information on how to register a marriage in Malaysia by foreign national and advised us to follow the government requirements therein.
I am very disappointed that even my friend is a Malaysian he seems to be helpless to process his kids Identity Card by first registering his marriage with their mother.
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What is more disappointing is that they are many cases that I know where kids of “Ibu tunggal” or “Bapa yang di tinggalkan isteri” has manage to get their kids Identification Card.
Shouldn’t a legitimate Malaysian father be given an opportunity to register his marriage and his kids Identification Card based on his (father) citizenship?