LilMtnCbn
02-07-2005, 06:20 AM
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/2/7/features/10028766
&sec=features
Adoption processes
By LOH FOON FONG
THERE are no adoption agencies in Malaysia, and Malaysian parents usually
identify a prospective child through relatives, friends, non-government
organisations or the Social Welfare Department.
According to the Social Welfare Department, there were more than 100 applicants
last year and only 60 children were adopted, not including children who were
returned to the department.
How Muslims can adopt
Non-Muslims may not adopt Muslim children. The Registration of Adoption Act
1952 and relevant Syariah laws govern the adoption of a Muslim child – a
child can be adopted before his or her 18th birthday – in Malaysia. In the
adoption of Muslim children, a court petition is not required.
Yahya Mohamed Yusof, the manager of Pusat Kebahagiaan Wanita dan Remaja (a
Muslim single women’s home) in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, said that a Muslim
child’s last name is not changed to take after his adoptive father’s name.
“The adoptive parents are regarded as guardians in Islam and not parents,”
he explained.
Since Muslim adoption does not go through the court process, the prospective
adoptive parents need to apply to the National Registration Department to
obtain documents that declare the child as their adopted child. The adoptive
parents must reside with, and have had continuous custody of, the child for a
period of at least two years before they are given the adoption certificate.
Yahya Mohamed Yusof and his wife, Ruzitah Bahrum, and two children, Puteri Nur
Hiyadatul and Putera Nur Salihin Kamil. Says Yahya: ‘The adoptive parents are
regarded as guardians in Islam and not parents.’
The adoption application should include evidence relating to the care,
maintenance and education of the child during the two years from the date of
the biological parent’s statutory declaration relinquishing all parental
rights.
If the National Registration Department is satisfied with the evidence
submitted, an entry will be made in its register and a certified copy of the
entry delivered to the adoptive parents.
“When the prospective adoptive parents have received a certified copy of the
document and taken the child, they will have to inform the Social Welfare
Department within 10 days. The Social Welfare Department will then send an
officer to conduct an investigation into the well-being of the child and give
necessary advice, such as the need for the parents to inform their adopted
child that he or she is adopted before the child is 18 years old and that the
parents are to give adequate love and religious teaching to the child,” said
Yahya.
Children adopted under the Registration Adoptions Act cannot assume the name
of, or inherit property from, the adoptive parents. For biological mothers
below 16 years old, the adoption will need the consent of her parents, said
Yahya.
Non-Muslim adoptions
The adoption of non-Muslim children in Peninsular Malaysia is governed by the
Adoption Act of 1952 (Act 257). Married couples and single mothers can adopt
boys and girls, while single fathers can only adopt boys.
If the prospective adoptive parents are not related to the child, at least one
of them must be at least 25 years old. If they are related to the child, one of
the prospective adoptive parents must be at least 21 years old. A child can be
adopted before he or she is 21 years old.
The prospective adoptive parents have to notify the Social Welfare Department
of their intention to apply for an adoption order of the child. When approved,
an “offer” letter will be issued to the adoptive parents.
The adoptive parents then must reside with, and care for, the child not less
than three consecutive months before petitioning the Sessions Court or the High
Court for the adoption order.
When an application for an adoption order is made, the court appoints a
guardian for the child. In most cases, the court will appoint a Social Welfare
employee. To safeguard the interests of the child, the guardian will
investigate the background and circumstances of the child and the adoptive
parents. The guardian will then submit the report to the court.
The court may issue an adoption order or an interim order awarding custody of
the child to the adoptive parents for a probationary period of not less than
six months and not exceeding two years, subject to provisions for the
maintenance, education and supervision of the welfare of the child.
The National Registration Department is responsible for issuing an adoption
certificate upon receiving the adoption order from the Court.
Why some get blacklisted
Adoptive parents often have to wait several years before they actually adopt a
child from the Social Welfare Department. That is because most parents want
babies below one year old but the department gets very few babies referred to
it.
“Adoptive parents also tend to favour children who are beautiful, intelligent
and fair skinned. Babies are referred to us from individuals, the police (in
cases of abandoned babies) and non-governmental organisations,” said an
officer who declines to be named. The soonest adoptive parents can get a child
is within six months, if there is a match; otherwise, they have to wait, she
said.
“Once a baby is returned and rejected, we usually blacklist the adoptive
parents because we had offered them a baby close to the criteria they asked
for,” she says.
“Some adoptive parents return the children because they said that the
children cry too much or throw tantrums but they must understand that the
children have lived in institutions and not in (family) homes. They usually
come from a background where they experienced abandonment, rejection, neglect
and abuse before they were sent to the institutions.
“If the parents are sincere in adopting, they should accept the challenge.
They can read up on how to care for these children, they can go for counselling
and even bring the child to see a psychologist.”
Children who are returned by prospective adoptive parents are likely to
experience rejection and feelings of worthlessness, she points out.
Rasamani Kandiah, president of the Women Lawyers’ Association, said that to
reduce delay, adoption cases should be heard in the Family Court instead of the
Sessions or High Court.
Sometimes adoption is also delayed because parents who make their own adoption
arrangements do not know that they have to get a report from the Social Welfare
Department, she added.
In private legal arrangements – when the adoptive parents identify a child to
adopt through friends, relatives or non-government organisations – the
adoption is usually done within a few months if the district welfare officer
has investigated the background of the parents and all the proper documents are
submitted, she said.
In such an arrangement, a lawyer’s fees is usually around RM5,000, she said.
While no monetary exchange should be done in private legal arrangements, some
adoptive parents pay for the delivery costs of the birth mother and that is not
against the law, she said.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
&sec=features
Adoption processes
By LOH FOON FONG
THERE are no adoption agencies in Malaysia, and Malaysian parents usually
identify a prospective child through relatives, friends, non-government
organisations or the Social Welfare Department.
According to the Social Welfare Department, there were more than 100 applicants
last year and only 60 children were adopted, not including children who were
returned to the department.
How Muslims can adopt
Non-Muslims may not adopt Muslim children. The Registration of Adoption Act
1952 and relevant Syariah laws govern the adoption of a Muslim child – a
child can be adopted before his or her 18th birthday – in Malaysia. In the
adoption of Muslim children, a court petition is not required.
Yahya Mohamed Yusof, the manager of Pusat Kebahagiaan Wanita dan Remaja (a
Muslim single women’s home) in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, said that a Muslim
child’s last name is not changed to take after his adoptive father’s name.
“The adoptive parents are regarded as guardians in Islam and not parents,”
he explained.
Since Muslim adoption does not go through the court process, the prospective
adoptive parents need to apply to the National Registration Department to
obtain documents that declare the child as their adopted child. The adoptive
parents must reside with, and have had continuous custody of, the child for a
period of at least two years before they are given the adoption certificate.
Yahya Mohamed Yusof and his wife, Ruzitah Bahrum, and two children, Puteri Nur
Hiyadatul and Putera Nur Salihin Kamil. Says Yahya: ‘The adoptive parents are
regarded as guardians in Islam and not parents.’
The adoption application should include evidence relating to the care,
maintenance and education of the child during the two years from the date of
the biological parent’s statutory declaration relinquishing all parental
rights.
If the National Registration Department is satisfied with the evidence
submitted, an entry will be made in its register and a certified copy of the
entry delivered to the adoptive parents.
“When the prospective adoptive parents have received a certified copy of the
document and taken the child, they will have to inform the Social Welfare
Department within 10 days. The Social Welfare Department will then send an
officer to conduct an investigation into the well-being of the child and give
necessary advice, such as the need for the parents to inform their adopted
child that he or she is adopted before the child is 18 years old and that the
parents are to give adequate love and religious teaching to the child,” said
Yahya.
Children adopted under the Registration Adoptions Act cannot assume the name
of, or inherit property from, the adoptive parents. For biological mothers
below 16 years old, the adoption will need the consent of her parents, said
Yahya.
Non-Muslim adoptions
The adoption of non-Muslim children in Peninsular Malaysia is governed by the
Adoption Act of 1952 (Act 257). Married couples and single mothers can adopt
boys and girls, while single fathers can only adopt boys.
If the prospective adoptive parents are not related to the child, at least one
of them must be at least 25 years old. If they are related to the child, one of
the prospective adoptive parents must be at least 21 years old. A child can be
adopted before he or she is 21 years old.
The prospective adoptive parents have to notify the Social Welfare Department
of their intention to apply for an adoption order of the child. When approved,
an “offer” letter will be issued to the adoptive parents.
The adoptive parents then must reside with, and care for, the child not less
than three consecutive months before petitioning the Sessions Court or the High
Court for the adoption order.
When an application for an adoption order is made, the court appoints a
guardian for the child. In most cases, the court will appoint a Social Welfare
employee. To safeguard the interests of the child, the guardian will
investigate the background and circumstances of the child and the adoptive
parents. The guardian will then submit the report to the court.
The court may issue an adoption order or an interim order awarding custody of
the child to the adoptive parents for a probationary period of not less than
six months and not exceeding two years, subject to provisions for the
maintenance, education and supervision of the welfare of the child.
The National Registration Department is responsible for issuing an adoption
certificate upon receiving the adoption order from the Court.
Why some get blacklisted
Adoptive parents often have to wait several years before they actually adopt a
child from the Social Welfare Department. That is because most parents want
babies below one year old but the department gets very few babies referred to
it.
“Adoptive parents also tend to favour children who are beautiful, intelligent
and fair skinned. Babies are referred to us from individuals, the police (in
cases of abandoned babies) and non-governmental organisations,” said an
officer who declines to be named. The soonest adoptive parents can get a child
is within six months, if there is a match; otherwise, they have to wait, she
said.
“Once a baby is returned and rejected, we usually blacklist the adoptive
parents because we had offered them a baby close to the criteria they asked
for,” she says.
“Some adoptive parents return the children because they said that the
children cry too much or throw tantrums but they must understand that the
children have lived in institutions and not in (family) homes. They usually
come from a background where they experienced abandonment, rejection, neglect
and abuse before they were sent to the institutions.
“If the parents are sincere in adopting, they should accept the challenge.
They can read up on how to care for these children, they can go for counselling
and even bring the child to see a psychologist.”
Children who are returned by prospective adoptive parents are likely to
experience rejection and feelings of worthlessness, she points out.
Rasamani Kandiah, president of the Women Lawyers’ Association, said that to
reduce delay, adoption cases should be heard in the Family Court instead of the
Sessions or High Court.
Sometimes adoption is also delayed because parents who make their own adoption
arrangements do not know that they have to get a report from the Social Welfare
Department, she added.
In private legal arrangements – when the adoptive parents identify a child to
adopt through friends, relatives or non-government organisations – the
adoption is usually done within a few months if the district welfare officer
has investigated the background of the parents and all the proper documents are
submitted, she said.
In such an arrangement, a lawyer’s fees is usually around RM5,000, she said.
While no monetary exchange should be done in private legal arrangements, some
adoptive parents pay for the delivery costs of the birth mother and that is not
against the law, she said.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
