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Check list, before naming your child

None | ByAgencies, Kuala Lumpur
Jul 31, 2006 12:28 AM IST

ADOLF HITLER, Stalin, Zaniah (female adulterer), Batumalai (stone hill) or Ah Kow (dog) figure among a list of names termed "undesirable" for use by Malaysians to christen their children.

ADOLF HITLER, Stalin, Zaniah (female adulterer), Batumalai (stone hill) or Ah Kow (dog) figure among a list of names termed "undesirable" for use by Malaysians to christen their children.

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HT Image

The National Registration Department (NRD) has forbidden the country's multi-ethnic community -- comprising Malays, Indians and Chinese -- from using names from a list that it has compiled, the 'New Strait Times' said on Sunday.
"The department has put up a list of 'undesirable' names in a bid to spare a child the blushes when he/she grows up," the paper reported.

Among the no-no names the department has also banned are Ah Gong (unsound mind), Chai Too (pig), Kai Chai(chick) and Sum Seng (gangster). While it is crass to name your son Ah Kow (dog), Karruppan (black fellow) and other Indian (mostly Tamil) words like Sivappi and Vellayan (both meaning fair) and Amma-kannu (mother's eye) are also on the list.

NRD spokesperson Jainisah Mohd Noor said the list was given to the department by various authorities such as the Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia (BMSM), the Malaysian Hindu Sangam (MHS) and the Universiti Malaya Tamil Language Association.

BMSM president Ang Joo Hong said "undesirable" names used to be popular with the Chinese as they were believed to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. MHS president Datuk A. Vaithi said many adults unhappy with the names given by their parents had approached the body for letters to have their names changed.
Besides names of dictators like Hitler and Stalin, these adults had grown up being teased in school for being named after natural disasters, vehicles, household items and countries, the paper said.

"Naming your baby Hitam (black in Bahasa Malay) or Putih (white in Bahasa Malay) is not allowed. Similarly, you can't call him Zero Zero Seven, 001 or K7," the department said. "You'll be surprised to know we have Malaysians named after Japanese car makes. Sorry, there'll be no Honda Tan, or Suzuki Lim."

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