NO. SUBJECT OF COMPLAINT 11. 12. 13. 14. Right to education Right to native customary land Child’s rights Others Total NO. OF CASES 2 1 1 5 46 1.1 Issues Arising from Complaints a. Citizenship CHAPTER 3 In 2020, citizenship was the chief concern among the Sarawak Office’s complaints. It is tied to nationality, late registration of ID such as birth certificates or identification cards for rural residents, and children with foreign mothers (i.e., unmarried mothers, or where local men did not register their marriage to foreign women with the NRD). We referred complaints regarding citizenship to the relevant agencies for appropriate action. b. Conversion to another religion from Islam During the year under review, the Sarawak Office received eight complaints regarding conversion from Islam to Christianity. Of the eight, five related to Sarawakian Muslim converts who wanted to return to their former faith after their exogamous marriage with Muslim spouses failed. The state NRD requires a letter of release from the state Islamic Religious Department to change their religious status. However, the complainants claimed their application for release was rejected and or never entertained. The remaining three related to administrative practices, where the NRD mistakenly recorded the complainants’ religion as Muslim on their MyKad just because there was a ‘bin’ or ‘binti’ in their name. Nevertheless, in March 2018, Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state would amend its religious law to provide an administrative solution for such situations. His statement came after three Sarawakians asked the civil court to reverse their conversion to Islam.22 On 27 February 2018, the Federal Court dismissed 22 https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/sarawak-could-allow-converts-to-renounce-islam ANNUAL REPORT 2020 85