The Federal Court today granted leave to the National Registration Department (NRD), and will soon decide whether Section 13A of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA), on registering a child conceived out of wedlock to take on his or her father's surname, applies to Muslim children or Malaysians as a whole.

This came after a three-member bench led by Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif allowed three questions of law to be posed, with the crux of the issue being the question above.

The apex court granted the leave, despite an objection made by lawyer K Shanmuga who represented the Muslim child and the parents...