50,000 SABAHANS YET TO APPLY FOR MYKAD

50,000 Sabahans yet to apply for MyKad

March 11, 2011, KOTA KINABALU: It has been estimated that there are about 50,000 Sabahans, most of whom are living in the rural areas have yet to apply for MyKad.

These people are above the age of 16 and most have registered their births late, according to outgoing Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) Director Datuk Jaffear Henry.

 “For most, it is because their villages are so remote that it takes them days to get to the nearest NRD office. Then there is the cost of transportation which many can ill afford,” Jaffear told reporters here yesterday.

In view of this, NRD will continue with it mobile registration service in the interior areas to assist these people, he added.

“Our target is to visit two areas a month but if we can do three, we will. This is not impossible because in the last two years, we visited a total of 60 areas,” he said, adding that this weekend the mobile service will be in Kemabong and Tenom.

The state NRD has also improved its services in Tongod which is now online via VSAT, meaning birth certificates can be issued on the spot at its office there, Jaffear said.

In the past, all the application forms had to be sent to Telupid and the process usually took about one week, he said.

“Now the birth certificates can be printed on the spot… in 20 minutes according to our Client Charter for registration of newborn,” he disclosed.

Jaffear said that during his tenure as state NRD director, he found that many Sabahans do not have a birth certificate.

Again, time and transportation costs are among the reasons why they failed to have their births and their children’s births registered but there are cases where they are ignorant of the law, he said.

“According to Section 9 of the Birth, Death and Adoption Ordinance, all births in Sabah must be registered with the NRD. I however would like to clear up the fears of some people on this matter… when a birth is registered, it does not mean that the child is automatically Malaysian.

“Only a child whose parent (s) is Malaysian would receive citizenship and children born to foreigners would be given the parent(s) citizenship,” he said.

Jaffear reminded single mothers or unwed couples to register the birth of their children as this is required by law.

According to him, shame of being a single or unwed mother is among the reasons why some births are not registered.

Elected representatives and ketua kampungs are also urged to submit the forms prepared by NRD for late registration of births to the nearest office so that the application can be expedited.

Meanwhile, Jaffear told reporters that Sabah NRD now has its own enforcement unit which was set up this year and has so far arrested and charged four foreigners, mostly women, in court for possessing fake MyKad.

The suspects were charged under Section 25 (1) (p) of the National Registration Department Act which provides for a sentence of minimum three years’ imprisonment or a minimum fine of RM3,000 and maximum of RM20,000, or both.

They are now serving jail sentences of between three months and one year, he added.