Section 4
Conditions of a valid adoption
of Muslim Adoption Enactment 2024
An adoption order shall not be made unless the conditions specified in the following provisions for a valid adoption are fulfilled ―
(a)
the child and one of the adoptive parents have a Sabah connection;
(b)
the child is below the age of eighteen and not married;
(c)
the child has been continuously in the care of the adoptive parents for three consecutive months preceding the date of the order;
(d)
the child has a birth certificate or a valid document recognized by the National
Registration Department;
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(e)
the adopter has attained the age of twenty-five and is at least twenty-one years older than the child in respect of whom the application is made unless the Court is satisfied that there are special circumstances for the making of an order;
(f)
a single male may not adopt a female child unless the Court is satisfied that there are special circumstances which shall not harm the child;
(g)
the natural mother or natural father, the father or stepmother of a rabibah child, may not adopt the child their natural child and his rabibah’s child;
(h)
the biological father either married or not to the natural mother, may not adopt his own illegitimate child; and
(i)
a declaration is made by the adopter that he is capable of providing maintenance, education and adequate care, protection, welfare and supervision of the child and is not convicted of any offence involving sexual crimes and serious crimes.
(2)
For the purposes of this Enactment, a person who in accordance with Islamic Law, possesses the rights and responsibilities for the care of a child, as laid down in the Second
Schedule in the prescribed order of preference for custodians, include but not limited to educational or other administrative requirements, may be appointed as a guardian to the child, as an alternative to adoption.