an abandoned child by assigning them a ‘good name’ immediately or after
the child is born (Azizah Mohd, 2011).
Figure 6: A sample birth certificate for an abandoned child with missing information
The laws on abandoned children’s right to family relations differ for nonMuslim and Muslim children (Azizah Mohd, 2011). The protection of
rights of non-Muslim abandoned children to family relations is manifested
through adoption or fostering. Adoptions are governed by the Adoption Act
1952 which provides that once a child is adopted, it will confer the status
of a biological child to the adopted child. However, this Act only applies
to non-Muslim children because the principle of adoption contravenes
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