descendants, as in the case of Letchumy Suppiah and her two daughters (Pathma Subramaniam, 2013). Letchumy was born in 1943 in Selangor and only received permanent resident (PR) status when she filed for citizenship in 2008. Letchumy’s two daughters were rendered stateless because of their mother’s statelessness and the fact that they only had their birth certificates. The two daughters passed on their statelessness to their children because their respective marriages were unregistered. In 2013, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted citizenship to all three stateless Indian women. Many persons who are in similar circumstances to Letchumy are not able to access legal representation to take their citizenship bid to court, and remain stateless. 3.4.4 Nationality laws and implementation in practice for abandoned children Section 171(ii) of the Child Act 2001 defines an abandoned child as a child under the age of eighteen years who is in need of care and protection after being abandoned by his parent or guardian, and that after reasonable enquiries the parent or guardian cannot be found, and no other suitable person is willing and able to care for the child. In Islamic family law, an abandoned child is described as a foundling (laqit) and is defined as a child who is lost or left abandoned from fear of responsibility (deemed burdensome), or to escape from suspicious accusation of adultery, or for any other reason, and where his parents are not known (Azizah Mohd, 2011). An abandoned child’s right to identity and name are protected in the provision for the mandatory registration of a child upon his birth under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA). Section 7 of the BDRA requires that every child born (including abandoned children) in Malaysia has to be registered, regardless of the child’s status or background. The registration of birth of an abandoned child applies to both Muslim and non-Muslim abandoned children. It is the responsibility of the Registrar General to provide and maintain the number of registers in the prescribed form for the recording of a child. The Registrar will register the birth of a child for the registration area in which the child was born, regardless of whether the child is born alive or dead (Azizah Mohd, 2011). 73