Religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar said this was to determine the parentage of some of the children, who were named “bin Abdullah”. This typically indicates they were illegitimate children.

“The national registration department (JPN) could not register these children to the actual parents because they did not have the documents to prove their marriage was legitimate.

“JPN refers to marriage certificates issued by the state Islamic religious departments when issuing birth certificates stating that they are (a married couple’s) child,” he said on the sidelines of an event at Menara Tabung Haji here.

Na’im added that determining the status of these children was crucial for their future.

Two days ago, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said investigations found that some of the rescued children were named “bin Abdullah”.

Razarudin also said police had identified most of the parents of the children and some of them may not be aware their kids had been rescued.