THE MADANI Government has resolved 12,509 applications for identity documents involving residents in remote areas of Sarawak through the Special Task Force established to tackle the long-standing problem of undocumented individuals in the state.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the task force had received a total of 13,224 applications since July 2023, with 715 cases still undergoing follow-up action.
“The absence of these documents makes their lives much harder. It is difficult for them to go to school, and if they fall ill and need hospital treatment, the costs are high,” he said.
He explained that officers were deployed directly to the ground instead of waiting in offices. “Officers did not stay in their offices. They went to longhouses and searched for people who did not have documents,” he said.
“As a result, from July 2023 to July 2025 we collected 13,224 applications and made decisions on 12,509 of them. Now only 715 documents remain outstanding,” he added during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.
Saifuddin was responding to a question from Datuk Ali anak Biju (PN-Saratok), who sought an update from the Home Ministry on the issuance of documents to stateless individuals in Sarawak’s interior and asked whether standard operating procedures would be adapted to the state’s geographical realities or continue to follow Putrajaya-based bureaucracy.
Saifuddin said the task force approach marked a clear departure from standard procedures, which require parents in Sabah and Sarawak to register births within 40 days.
“Because they live far away, they are unable to register within the 40-day period,” he said.
“Under this procedure, we go and find them in the interior. The task force collects the data, processes it and then issues MyKad and birth certificates,” he added.
He said the ministry would continue using this targeted approach to ensure that residents in hard-to-reach areas are not excluded from basic rights and public services due to the lack of official identification. - January 21, 2026
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