*BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION ACT 1957

This Act may be cited as the Births and Deaths Registration

Act 1957.

This Act shall apply to Peninsular Malaysia only.

Interpretation

any register of births and deaths kept or required to be preserved under any written law repealed by this Act;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.

Appointment of officers

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—

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.

Births and Deaths Registration 11

Provision and maintenance of registers

(Deleted by Act A1524).

(Deleted by Act A1524).

The Register-General may—

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.

Inspection of registers, etc.

A public officer may, in the performance of his duties and with the authorization of the Registrar-General, inspect the registers and indices.

The following persons shall be qualified to give information concerning a birth, that is to say—

(Deleted by Act A1524).

Information concerning birth to be given to Registrar within sixty days

deliver to the Registrar a written certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner or a registered midwife who was in attendance at the birth or who has examined the body of the child that the child was not born alive; or

make a declaration in the prescribed form to the effect that no registered medical practitioner or registered midwife was present at the birth or has examined the body and that a certificate of a registered medical practitioner or a registered midwife cannot be obtained and that the child was not born alive.

Special provision as to registration of birth

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.

This section shall not apply in the case of a stillbirth.

Provisions as to father of illegitimate child

The surname, if any, to be entered in respect of an illegitimate child may where the mother is the informant and volunteers the information, be the surname of the mother; provided that where the person acknowledging himself to be the father of the child in accordance with section 13 requests so, the surname may be the surname of that person.

Certificate of birth

Where a child has been registered without a name, a name may be registered—

The Registrar-General shall on receipt of the certificate direct the Superintendent-Registrar having the custody of the register in which the birth was registered to enter forthwith in the register without any erasure of the original entry the name mentioned in the certificate

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as having been given and such Superintendent-Registrar shall act accordingly and the Registrar-General shall at the same time cause a corresponding entry to be made in his register:

Provided that before giving a direction under this subsection, the

Registrar-General shall require the person delivering the certificate to produce evidence which appears to the Registrar-General satisfactory that such person is a person who was registered without a name.

Where any person procures the alteration of a name or the entry of a name in the register pursuant to the provisions of subsection (1)

or (2) and the name as altered or as given is shown in the appropriate certificate delivered as in the said subsections mentioned in Chinese characters as well as in Roman characters, the Registrar-General may permit such person to insert in the register in such manner as may be prescribed the name as altered or as given in Chinese characters.

The provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to a stillborn child or to a child which has died prior to the delivery of any certificate in this section mentioned.

Registration of objectionable or undesirable names

the name of a person acknowledging himself to be the father of the legitimated person has been entered in the register in pursuance of section 13 of this Act; or

the paternity of the legitimated person has been established by a maintenance order made under the Married Women and

Children (Maintenance) Act 1950 [Act 263], or otherwise by a decree of a Court of competent jurisdiction, the Registrar-General shall not authorize re-registration unless information with a view to obtaining the same is furnished by both parents.

Where the Registrar-General believes any person to have become a legitimated person within the meaning of the Legitimacy Act 1961 on the marriage of his parents, and the parents or either of them fail to furnish within a period of three months from the date of the marriage such information, if any, as may be necessary to enable the

Registrar-General to authorize the re-registration of that person’s birth, the Registrar-General may at any time after the expiration of the said period by notice under his hand require the parents or either of them to give him such information concerning the matter as he may consider necessary, verified in such manner as he may direct, and for that purpose to attend personally either at a Registrar’s office or at any other place appointed by him within such time, not being less than seven days after the receipt of the notice, as may be specified therein.

No fee for re-registration under this section shall be charged if the necessary information for the purpose is furnished before the expiration of the said period of three months; but in any other case there shall be charged in respect of the re-registration such fees as may be prescribed.

This section shall apply with such modifications as may be prescribed in relation to births at sea or on board an aircraft.

Births and Deaths Registration 19

any relative of the deceased person present at the death or in attendance during his last illness;

any other relative of the deceased residing or being in the registration area where the death occurred;

any person present at the death;

the occupier of the house if he knew of the happening of the death;

any inmate of the house who knew of the happening of the death;

any person finding or taking charge of the body; and

the person causing the disposal of the body.

It shall be the duty—

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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.

Duty of medical practitioner as to certification

Such person shall, when furnishing particulars of the death, deliver such certificate to the Registrar and the cause of death as stated in the certificate shall be entered in the register together with the name of the certifying medical practitioner.

In the case that any certificate under subsection (1) above certifies that the cause of death of any person has resulted from plague, cholera, small-pox or any disease that is required to be notified to foreign countries as a dangerous infectious disease under any

Convention with regard to dangerous infectious diseases for the time being in force, which is not known at the time to be prevalent in the area where the deceased person died, the Registrar may, if he is not satisfied of the correctness of the diagnosis, refuse to act upon such certificate and refuse to register the cause of death until the circumstances of such death have been immediately reported to the

Superintendent-Registrar and the Health Officer of the area where the deceased person died, and such further and other opinion as to the cause of death as such Registrar may require has been given.

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When post-mortem examination is held

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 23

Certificate of Presumed Death

(Deleted by Act A1524).

Correction of errors and alteration in register

Any clerical error which may from time to time be discovered in any register may be corrected by the Superintendent-Registrar, in such manner as the Registrar-General shall direct.

Any error of fact or substance in any register may be corrected by the Registrar-General upon payment of the prescribed fee and upon

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production by the person requiring such error to be corrected of a statutory declaration setting forth the nature of the error and the true facts of the case, and made by two persons required by this Act to give information concerning the birth, still-birth or death with reference to which the error has been made, or in default of such persons then by two credible persons having knowledge to the satisfaction of the

Registrar-General of the truth of the case; and the Registrar-General may if he is satisfied of the facts stated in the statutory declaration cause such entry to be certified and the day and the month and the year when such correction is made to be added thereto.

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.

Where an error of fact or substance occurs in the information forwarded by a Coroner or Magistrate under section 24 the Coroner or

Magistrate, if satisfied that such error exists, may certify under his hand to the appropriate Superintendent-Registrar the nature of the error and the true facts of the case as ascertained by him, and the error may thereupon be corrected by such Superintendent-Registrar.

(Deleted by Act A1524).

(Deleted by Act A1524).

Duty of Superintendent-Registrar and Registrar to procure registration

It shall be the duty of every police officer, penghulu and headman to obtain information of every birth, stillbirth and death within his respective area and also information respecting the lawful father and the mother of every child born in his area and respecting the occupier of any house in his area in which any birth, stillbirth or death may have taken place and to give notice thereof to the Registrar.

Any police officer, penghulu or headman who has in his possession any such information and wilfully neglects or omits to disclose the same to the Registrar shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty ringgit.

There shall be prepared in manner prescribed indices of every entry made in the register after the coming into force of this Act.

Indices of existing entries in the register shall so far as is practicable be prepared in such manner as may be prescribed or as the

Registrar-General shall direct.

Searches

Every Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of

Presumed Death shall be certified under the hand of the Registrar or the Registrar-General or the Superintendent-Registrar having the custody of the register.

The provisions of section 31 and of this section shall not apply to Certificates of Birth relating to entries in the register of stillbirths but the Registrar-General may, if he sees fit in any particular case and on payment of the appropriate fees as aforesaid, cause a search to be made for and allow any person to have a Certificate of Birth pertaining to any entry in the register of stillbirths.

When any application for a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of

Death or Certificate of Presumed Death is made in pursuance to subsection (1) the Superintendent-Registrar shall issue it unless—

When the Superintendent-Registrar has refused to furnish the

Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed

Death under this section, the applicant may in writing appeal to the

Registrar-General, whose decision shall be final.

Births and Deaths Registration 27

Entry in register as evidence of birth, death or presumed death

An entry in a register or a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of

Death or Certificate of Presumed Death relating thereto, shall not be received as evidence under this section unless—

For the purposes of this section a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed Death shall be deemed to be a certified copy if it purports to have been certified in accordance with subsection 32(2) notwithstanding that it may be—

being a Registrar, refuses or without reasonable cause omits to register any birth or death or presumed death or particulars concerning which information has been tendered to him by a qualified person under section 7 or 19 or a person under section 24A and which he is required by or under this Act to register; or

being a person having the custody of any register carelessly loses or injures the register or allows the register to be injured, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

Births and Deaths Registration 29

Penalties for failure to give information, etc.

being required by or under this Act to give information concerning any birth or death or any living new-born child or any dead body, wilfully refuses to answer any question put to him by the Registrar relating to the particulars required to be registered concerning the birth or death, or save as provided in this Act, fails to comply with any requirement of the Registrar made thereunder;

refuses or fails without reasonable excuse to give, deliver or send any certificate which he is required by this Act to give, deliver or send;

being a person upon whom a duty is imposed by section 8

to give information concerning a birth fails to give that information and that information is not given;

being a parent of a legitimated person within the meaning of the Legitimacy Act 1961, fails to comply with any requirement of the Registrar-General made under or by virtue of section 17 of this Act;

being a person upon whom a duty to give information concerning a death is imposed by section 19 of this Act, fails to give that information and that information is not given; or

being a person who is called upon by the Registrar-General or the Superintendent-Registrar to appear before him in pursuance to subsection 37B(2) fails without reasonable excuse to do so, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

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Penalty for false information, false entry, or destruction of entry

wilfully makes or permits to be made for the purposes of registration any false statement;

wilfully or knowingly furnishes or permits to be furnished any false information, touching any of the particulars required by the Act to be made known;

makes or permits to be made any false entry in any register, knowing the same to be false;

wilfully destroys or permits to be destroyed any entry in any register;

wilfully issues any Certificate of Birth or Certificate of

Death containing false particulars;

without lawful authority makes any mark on or entry upon, or erases, cancels, tampers or alters any mark or entry contained in any register;

knowingly and wilfully registers or causes the registration of a birth or a death in respect of one person to be effected more than once;

makes use of a Certificate of Birth or a Certificate of Death knowing or believing that it contains any false particulars;

knowingly possesses or makes use of a Certificate of Birth or a Certificate of Death purporting the same to be his own or of any person other than the rightful owner’s;

forges a Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or

Certificate of Presumed Death;

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hands over any Certificate of Birth, Certificate of Death or

Certificate of Presumed Death to any person knowing or believing it will be used for unlawful purposes;

without lawful authority or reasonable excuse willfully retains any Certificate of Birth or Certificate of Death from the rightful owner;

aids or abets the commission of any offence against this

Act; or

knowingly possesses or makes use of a fake Certificate of

Birth, Certificate of Death or Certificate of Presumed

Death, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

Every offence under paragraph (1)(a), (b), (c), (h), (i), (j), (k),

The Registrar-General, the Superintendent-Registrar or the

Registrar may only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of subsection (1)—

The Registrar-General, the Superintendent-Registrar or the

Registrar may impound any document produced before him or otherwise received by him under paragraph (2)(c) if he has reason to doubt its genuineness or correctness or the validity of its issue.

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.

Power to compound offences

any offence under this Act and any rules made under this

Act may be compounded;

criteria for compounding such offence; and

method and procedure for compounding such offence.

The Registrar-General or the Superintendent-Registrar may, with the consent in writing of the Public Prosecutor, compound any offence committed by any person under this Act or any rules made under this Act and prescribed to be a compoundable offence by making a written offer to the person suspected to have committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment to the Registrar-General or the

Superintendent-Registrar of such amount of money not exceeding fifty per centum of the amount of maximum fine for that offence within such time as may be specified in his written offer.

An offer under subsection (2) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed but before any prosecution for it has been instituted.

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If the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer or such extended time as the Registrar-General or the Superintendent-Registrar may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.

Where an offence has been compounded under subsection (2), no prosecution shall be instituted in respect of the offence against the person to whom the offer to compound was made, and any document or thing seized in connection with the offence may be released by the

Registrar-General or the Superintendent-Registrar, subject to such terms as he thinks fit.

Rules

the form and contents of the registers, Certificates of Birth,

Certificates of Death, forms, certificates, notices and other documents required and the information to be supplied for carrying out the purposes of this Act;

the fees to be imposed under this Act;

the custody of registers, forms, certificates, notices and other documents connected with the business of registration;

the making of searches and the issue of Certificates of

Birth or Certificates of Death;

the preparation and custody of indices of matters contained in registers;

the making of corrections or alterations to the registers;

Births and Deaths Registration 35

the returns to be rendered by masters of ships or captains of aircrafts registered in Malaysia in respect of births and deaths on board their ships or aircrafts; and

any other matters as to which it may be expedient to make rules for carrying into effect the objects of this Act.

Sending documents by post

Any form used, and any requirement as to the particulars to be entered in any form used, for the purposes of any written law repealed by this Act in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue in force as though prescribed under this Act until other forms or particulars are so prescribed.

Where a period of time specified in any Enactment or

Ordinance repealed by this Act is current at the commencement of this

Act this Act shall have effect as if the corresponding provision thereof had been in force when that period began to run.

Any document referring to the provision of any written law repealed by this Act shall unless the contrary intention appears be construed as referring to the corresponding provision of this Act.

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A copy of any entry made in the register prior to the commencement of this Act which would if made after such commencement have been entered as a late registration pursuant to section 12 or 21 shall—

Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be taken as prejudicing the operation of section 30 of the Interpretation

Acts 1948 and 1967 (which relates to the effect of repeal).

Repeal