Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Act 2017

This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette.

by substituting for subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(1)  The Registrar-General shall keep and maintain a sufficient number of registers in a form to be determined by the Registrar-General for the recording of births, deaths and presumed deaths.”; and

by deleting subsections (2) and (3).

by substituting for the shoulder note the following shoulder note:

“Inspection of registers, etc.”;

by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1);

and

by inserting after the renumbered subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(2)  A public officer may, in the performance of his duties and with the authorization of the

Registrar-General, inspect the registers and indices.”.

Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment)

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Amendment of section 7

in subsection (1)—

by substituting for the words “for the registration area in which the child was born” the words

“in any registration area”; and

by deleting subsection (3).

Amendment of section 8

in the shoulder note, by substituting for the word “fourteen”

the word “sixty”; and

by substituting for the word “fourteen” the word “sixty”.

in subsection (1)—

by substituting for the words “forty-two days from the date of the birth or any child or” the words “sixty days from the date of the birth of any child or fourteen days”; and

by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(1a)  The Registrar-General may waive, in whole or in part, the fees prescribed for late registration referred to in subsection (1) subject to such criteria and conditions as the Minister may determine.”.

Amendment of section 18

by substituting for the words “for the registration area in which the death occurred” the words “in any registration area”; and

by deleting the words “in duplicate in manner prescribed”.

by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1);

in the renumbered subsection (1)—

by substituting for the word “three” the word

“seven”;

by inserting after the renumbered subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(2)  The Registrar-General may waive, in whole or in part, the fees prescribed for late registration referred to in subsection (1) subject to such criteria and conditions as the Minister may determine.”.

by substituting for the words “twenty-four hours”

the words “seven days”; and

by deleting the words “for the registration area within which the death took place or the body of such person was found”.

On receipt of the order under subsection (1), the

Registrar shall make an entry in a register containing the name of the missing person and such other information as may be necessary in relation to the missing person’s presumed death.

Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment)

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Certificate of Presumed Death 24b.  The Registrar, upon registering a missing person’s presumed death, shall issue a Certificate of Presumed Death to the person forwarding the Court order under section 24a.”.

Amendment of section 26

in the shoulder note, by deleting the words

“Superintendent-Registrar and”;

in subsection (1)—

by inserting after the words “as may be appointed”

the words “, and in such manner as may be determined,”; and

by deleting subsection (2); and

by renumbering the existing subsection (1) as section 26.

Amendment of section 27

in subsection (3), by deleting the words “by entry (without any alteration of the original entry)”;

by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsection:

“(3 a)  Where the Registrar-General, the

Superintendent-Registrar or the Registrar is satisfied that from an inquiry held under section 37b an error of fact or substance in any register exists, the error of fact or substance may be corrected by the

Registrar-General.”;

in subsection (4)—

by deleting the words “(without any alteration of the original entry)”; and

by deleting subsections (5) and (6).

Amendment of section 30

by deleting the words “in duplicate”; and

by deleting the words “One copy of the indices shall be kept by the Registrar-General and the other copy shall be kept by the appropriate Superintendent-Registrar.”.

Amendment of section 32

in the shoulder note, by substituting for the words

“Certificates of Birth and Certificates of Death” the words “Certificates of Birth, Certificates of Death and

Certificates of Presumed Death”;

in subsection (1), by substituting for the words “a

Certificate of Birth or a Certificate of Death” the words

“a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed Death”;

in subsection (2), by substituting for the words “Certificate of Birth or Certificate of Death” the words “Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed

Death”;

Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment)

in subsection (4)—

by substituting for the words “Certificate of Birth or a Certificate of Death” the words “Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of

Presumed Death”; and

in subsection (5), by substituting for the words

“Certificate of Birth or the Certificate of Death” the words “Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or

Certificate of Presumed Death”.

Amendment of section 33

in the shoulder note, by substituting for the words “or death” the words “, death or presumed death”;

in subsection (1)—

by substituting for the words “a Certificate of

Birth or a Certificate of Death” the words

“a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or

Certificate of Presumed Death”; and

in subsection (2)—

by substituting for the words “a Certificate of

Birth or a Certificate of Death” the words “a

Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or

Certificate of Presumed Death”; and

in subsection (3), by substituting for the words

“a Certificate of Birth or a Certificate of Death” the words

“a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed Death”.

Amendment of section 34

in paragraph (a)—

by inserting after the word “death” the words “or presumed death”; and

by substituting for the words “of five hundred ringgit”

the words “not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both”.

by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1);

Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment)

in paragraph (j), by substituting for the words

“a Certificate of Birth or a Certificate of Death” the words

“a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed Death”;

in paragraph (k), by substituting for the words “Certificate of Birth or Certificate of Death” the words “Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed

Death”;

in paragraph (l), by deleting the word “or” at the end of the paragraph;

in paragraph (m), by substituting for the comma at the end of the paragraph the words “; or”;

by inserting after paragraph (m) the following paragraph:

“(n)  knowingly possesses or makes use of a fake

Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or

Certificate of Presumed Death,”;

by substituting for the words “of two thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for twelve months or to both such fine and imprisonment” the words “not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both”; and

by inserting after the renumbered subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(2)  Every offence under paragraph (1)(a), (b),

, (h), (i), (j), (k), (m) or (n) shall be a seizable offence for the purpose of the law relating to criminal procedure.”.

in subsection (1)—

b y s u b s t i t u t i n g f o r t h e w o r d s

“Superintendent-Registrar or any other officer duly authorized in writing” the words “the

Superintendent-Registrar or the Registrar”; and

in subsection (2)—

b y s u b s t i t u t i n g f o r t h e w o r d s

“Superintendent-Registrar or such authorized officer” the words “the Superintendent-Registrar or the Registrar”;

in subsection (3)—

b y s u b s t i t u t i n g f o r t h e w o r d s

“The Superintendent-Registrar” the words “The

Registrar-General, the Superintendent-Registrar or the Registrar”; and

to attend any inquiry;

Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment)

to produce any document; or

to answer any question, when required to do so under this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit.”.

New section 37c

by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsection:

“(4)  Any person who fails or refuses—

For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that for the purposes of this Act, the Registrar-General, the

Superintendent-Registrar and the Registrar shall have all or any of the special powers of a police officer of whatever rank in relation to police investigations in seizable cases as provided for under the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593], and such powers shall be in addition to the powers provided for under this Act and not in derogation thereof.”.