Act of Parliament · Updated to 1 Mar 2018 · 4 parts
Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957
Feedback & supportRegistering births and deathsPart I
Preliminary
Official textFrom Laws of Malaysia Online, unchanged
This Act may be cited as the Births and Deaths Registration
Act 1957.
This Act shall apply to Peninsular Malaysia only.
s 2Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Certificate of Birth” means a certificate issued pursuant to section 14 or subsection 32(1);
“Certificate of Death” means a certificate issued pursuant to section 25 or subsection 32(1);
“Certificate of Presumed Death” means a certificate issued pursuant to section 24B or subsection 32(1);
“house” includes a public institution;
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“indices” means the indices of entries in the register;
“occupier” includes the keeper, master, matron, superintendent or other chief officer of a public institution, and, where a house is let in separate apartments or lodgings, includes any person residing in such house who is the person under whom such separate apartments or lodgings are immediately held or his agent;
“Peninsular Malaysia” has the meaning assigned thereto in section 3
of the Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967 [Act 388], and includes the
Federal Territory;
“public institution” includes prison, lock-up, mental hospital, hospital and any other public or charitable institution;
“register” means any register required to be kept under the provisions of this Act and includes—
any register of births and deaths kept or required to be preserved under any written law repealed by this Act;
all documents recording particulars of births and deaths and books of record compiled therefrom in existence upon the coming into force of this Act and in the custody of the
Registrar-General or of any other public officer;
any new register reconstituted under subsection 4(3); and
any microfilm or computer tape made in pursuance to subsection 4(4).
“registered medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in the
Medical Act 1971 [Act 50];
“registered midwife” means any person duly registered as a midwife under any law for the time being in force relating to the registration of midwives;
“the Registrar” means a Registrar of Births and Deaths appointed under this Act and when used in relation to any birth or death means
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the Registrar whose duty it is to register particulars of such birth or death;
“Registrar-General” means the Registrar-General of Births and
Deaths appointed under the provisions of this Act;
“registration area” means the area for which a Registrar is appointed and when used with reference to a Superintendent-Registrar means the registration areas for which such Superintendent-Registrar is appointed;
“relative” includes a relative by marriage;
“stillborn” and “stillbirth” shall apply to any child which has issued forth from its mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy and which did not at any time after being completely expelled from its mother breathe or show any other signs of life;
“the Superintendent-Registrar” means a Superintendent-Registrar of
Births and Deaths appointed under this Act and when used in relation to any Registrar means the Superintendent-Registrar for the area wherein the registration area of such Registrar is situate.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may appoint a public officer to be Registrar-General of Births and Deaths for Malaysia, who shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this Act and shall have general charge and supervision of all registers and all indices and of all matters done or performed under this Act.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may appoint a public officer to be Deputy Registrar-General of Births and Deaths for Malaysia, who may, subject to any general or special directions of the Registrar-General, exercise any of the powers of the Registrar-General under this
Act, and who shall, in the absence of the Registrar-General or if so directed by him, perform the duties and functions of the Registrar-General thereunder.
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The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may appoint a public officer to be Assistant Registrar-General of Births and Deaths for Peninsular
Malaysia who may, subject to any general or special directions of the
Registrar-General, exercise any of the powers of the Registrar-General under subsection 4(3), sections 4A and 5, subsection 12(1), sections 15,
16,
17,
21,
27, subsections 32(3),
32(4), paragraph 33(2)(b), sections 37B and 38 of this Act and all the powers under this Act conferred on the Superintendent-Registrar or the
Registrars.
The Registrar-General may appoint—
one or more public officers as he may consider necessary by name or office to be Superintendent-Registrars of
Births and Deaths for each registration area;
one or more persons, whether public officers or not, by name or office to be Registrars of Births and Deaths for each registration area; and
such other officers as he may consider necessary for the purpose of performing the several duties prescribed by this
Act:
Provided that the power conferred under this subsection shall be deemed to have come into force on 1 August 1958.
The Registrar-General may exercise the powers of any
Superintendent-Registrar or any Registrar and a Superintendent-Registrar may exercise the powers of any Registrar within the registration area of such Superintendent-Registrar.
The Registrar-General may delegate by writing under his hand any of his powers under this Act (except this power of delegation) to any Superintendent-Registrar or any officer appointed under paragraph (2)(c) subject to such conditions and limitations as he may specify in the instrument of delegation:
Provided that the Registrar-General may exercise any powers under this Act notwithstanding any delegation by him under this section.
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s 4Provision and maintenance of registers
(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.
(Deleted by Act A1524).
(Deleted by Act A1524).
The Register-General may—
cause any or all registers to be photographed on microfilms; or
cause particulars in any or all registers to be recorded on computer tapes, subject to such precautions as he may deem necessary in the interests of its safety and privacy of the information contained therein.
s 4AWhere records missing, re-registration permitted
Where, in the case of any person whose birth or death has been registered in Peninsular Malaysia but records of such registration are for any reason whatsoever missing or destroyed and from the evidence adduced, the Registrar-General is satisfied of the occurrence of such birth or death and other particulars relating to it the Registrar-General may cause such birth or death to be re-registered.
s 5Annual reports
The Registrar-General shall, within such period after the expiration of every year as may from time to time be prescribed, compile—
a summary of the births and deaths of the preceding year;
and
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a general report on the increase or decrease of the population and on any special causes appearing to affect such increase or decrease, so far as the same can be adduced from the registers.
Registers and indices shall not be open to inspection by the public.
A public officer may, in the performance of his duties and with the authorization of the Registrar-General, inspect the registers and indices.
Part II
Registration of Births
Part III
Registration of Deaths
Part IV