(b) to the wishes of the child, where he or she is of an age to express an independent opinion. [Emphasis added.] [55] Although both END and ENO were engaging, EEL, the daughter, was the most talkative and assumed the role of ‘spokeswoman’ for the Children. She was articulate and expressed herself well. 28 December 2022 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 21 [56] All Children expressed their desire to live with the Defendant. END explained that although the Defendant was strict and regimented, he wished to continue remaining with her, as he felt that the Defendant had his best interests at heart. [57] I was able accept the Defendant’s parenting methods, as it was reasonable for her, as a former competitive swimmer and now a swimming coach, to expect her children to excel in the same sport. As such, the Plaintiff’s contention that this competitive streak in her made her an unfit mother, was bereft of merit. [58] I had also observed during the interview that the Children had a close relationship, and it would, therefore, be undesirable to separate them. ‘Children do... support one another and give themselves mutual comfort, perhaps more than they can derive from either of their parents’: per Dunn LJ in Adams v. Adams [1984] FLR 768, which was adopted in Sivajothi K Suppiah v. Kunathasan Chelliah [2000] 3 CLJ 175 and Ooi Mei Chein @ Wei Mei Chein v. Micheal Tan Cheng Hai & Anor [2013] 1 LNS 1090. [59] In Sivajothi K Suppiah v. Kunathasan Chelliah, it was stated by Faiza Thamby Chik J, in the following passage: In General The Courts Dislike Separating Children In Bromley's Family Law 7th edn, 1987 by Professor B.M. Bromley and N.V. Lowe at p. 328 it is stated as follows: Keeping the children together. In general the courts dislike separating children. 28 December 2022 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 22 [Emphasis added.] [60] As such, I took the view that the Children in the present case should not be separated, and should, therefore, remain with the Defendant. Children’s environment [61] I was also of the view that the Children should not be removed from their current environment. They appeared to be well-adjusted and have been attending school and other co-curricular activities without any disturbance, and have developed a loving relationship with the Defendant’s family members, especially the Defendant’s mother. [62] The Children actively participated in swimming competitions and that the Defendant is the parent who supervises their schedule. Furthermore, it was undisputed that END is a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”), and I, therefore, drew guidance from the case of CY v CC [2015] MLJU 930 (a case that dealt with an autistic child), to fortify my decision that END should remain with the Defendant. [63] Granting sole guardianship and custody, as well as care and control to the Plaintiff would disrupt the Children’s routine, bearing in mind also that the Plaintiff, being a US citizen, whilst remaining in Malaysia on a spousal visa, is a flight risk as he would, at any time, be able to leave 28 December 2022 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 23 Malaysia with the Children for good, if granted sole guardianship and custody, as well as primary care and control. [64] At this juncture, I have to state that although the Children had expressed their wish to remain with the Defendant, EEL, had gone out of the way to say unsavoury things about the Plaintiff without understanding some of the words she used. In this regard, it was my view that she may have been influenced by an adult to paint an unfavourable picture of the Plaintiff. [65] As such, although I had decided not to grant sole guardianship and custody of the Children to the Plaintiff, it was my view that he should be granted joint guardianship and custody, as well as liberal access to the Children. Whether Plaintiff should have access to Children [66] It was crucial, therefore, to impress upon parties that the Children have a right to have an ongoing and meaningful relationship with both parents. Although the Defendant should have primary care and control of the Children, no one parent is superior to the other. The dynamics of the relationship between a child with his/ her father and that with his/ her mother are different. It does not mean that a father’s rights with regard to his child are inferior to that of the mother. [67] Parties must be reminded of the role that a father has in ensuring that a child is raised in a nourishing environment. This was highlighted in 28 December 2022 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 24 the Singapore case of APE v APF [2015] SGHC 17, where reference was made by Tan Siong Thye J to an enlightening article Contact and Domestic Violence – The Experts’ Court Report [2000] Fam Law 615 by Claire, Sturge and Danya Glaser, which provided an analysis of the role of the father to his child: The findings are that the position in law that parental involvement on both sides is indeed in the best interests of the child. In a paper commissioned by the Official Solicitor, Claire, Sturge and Danya Glaser, “Contact and Domestic Violence – The Experts’ Court Report” [2000] Fam Law 615 (“The Experts’ Court Report”) at pp 616–617, the authors comment that: Contact with fathers, as opposed to other family members or people with whom the child has a significant relationship, brings the following, in particular, to bear, although the general principles remain the same: • the father’s unique role in the creation of the child; • the sharing of 50% of his or her genetic material; • the history of his or her conception and the parental relationship; • the consequent importance of the father in the child’s sense of identity and value; • the role modelling a father can provide of the father’s and male contribution to parenting and the rearing of children which will have relevance to the child’s concepts of parental role models and his or her own choices about choosing partners and the sort of family life he or she aims to create. … In summary, the benefits include the meeting of his or her needs for: • warmth, approval, feeling unique and special to a parent; 28 December 2022 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 25 • extending experiences and developing (or maintaining) meaningful relationships; • information and knowledge; • reparation of distorted relationships or perceptions. [68] It must also be remembered that the provisions of the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act were discussed, deliberated and determined during a time when the demarcation of the role of a father and mother was clear, where most women were stay-home mothers, to manage the household and raise children, whilst fathers were mere breadwinners for the family. However, a whole generation has transitioned since the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act was enacted and along with it, there has since been a shift in cultural norms. As such, the role of a father is no longer relegated to secondary status. The relationship between a father and child has evolved and is more complex than one assumes. [69] It cannot be gainsaid, therefore, that a child needs both parents, in the gender-binary sense, as it stands in our society today. Both parents have invaluable contributions to make to a child’s life. Hence, not all fathers should be painted with the same brush, as there are some who take a more active role in raising children, whilst others undeniably sit back and leave their children to be raised by their wives and domestic help. 28 December 2022 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 26 [70] At this juncture, reference was made to the Singapore case of CX v CY [2005] 3 SLR 690, where the Court of Appeal recognised the importance of joint parenting and established the preferable position to preserve the concept of joint parental responsibility. [71] Following from this, I took the view that both Plaintiff and Defendant should co-parent the Children, the significance of which has been highlighted in section 5 of the Guardianship of Infants Act, which reads: Section 5 – Equality of parental rights