KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — More than 690 babies have been abandoned at birth in the country for the past six years, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry said today.

Citing police statistics, minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said 697 cases of baby dumping had been recorded from 2010 to December 2016.

Out of these 697 cases, there were 91 cases in 2010, 98 cases in 2011, 89 cases in 2012. The number of reported cases have been gradually growing, with 90 recorded in 2013, 103 in 2014, 111 in 2015 and 115 in 2016.

"During that period, the five states that recorded the highest number of cases are Selangor at 157 cases, followed by Sabah and Johor which respectively recorded 84 cases, Kuala Lumpur 65 cases, and Sarawak 49 cases," Rohani said in her parliamentary reply to Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching.

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Rohani further said that her ministry had collaborated with the OrphanCARE group to provide "protection services for babies who were born to desperate mothers that do not want their babies" and who were left in baby hatches.

She said there are now eight hospitals and one NGO that offers baby hatches.

Citing OrphanCARE's figures, Rohani said there have been 35 babies left in baby hatches throughout 2010-2016, with the bulk of it again being Selangor with 29 cases.

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Out of the 35 babies, both Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan recorded two cases each, while Perak and Pahang both recorded one each.

In response to Teo's supplementary question regarding the citizenship status of abandoned babies, Rohani said her ministry tries its best to help obtain citizenship for abandoned babies left at baby hatches or sent to 13 childcare institutions.

The ministry's Social Welfare Department's first step is to apply for late birth registrations of the abandoned babies, before seeking citizenship for them, Rohani said.

Abandoned babies usually do not come with any documents or basic details, while attempts to trace the birth parents by asking them to step forward in notices displayed in courts are also unsuccessful, she said.

Besides the dumping of babies that are often abandoned without documents or basic information, Rohani said the reasons for children lacking birth certificates also include those who were born to parents in unregistered marriages or as a result of illicit sexual relationships.

"According to Section 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, it is mandatory for each child born in Malaysia — regardless of whether the mother or father is a citizen or not — to have their birth registered at the National Registration Department," she said, adding that proof of birth should be furnished together with the application for birth registration.

As for abandoned babies who have been adopted, their adoptive parents or families must also ensure that a complete birth certificate is obtained for the child instead of using a birth certificate with incomplete information, before applying for citizenship through the Federal Constitution's Article 15A, she said.