MIRI – The Sarawak state government has the power to issue birth certificates to any person born in the state and does not need federal approval, a think tank said today.
The Dayak Think Tank Association of Sarawak said the state government already has powers to issue birth certificates under an existing state ordinance, which would also mean automatic eligibility for a Malaysian identity card.
“Under the Sarawak Registration of Birth and Death Ordinance 1958, this state has its own unique authority over birth certificate issuance,” association chairman Wellie Henry Majang said in a statement.
“This will solve tens of thousands of stateless cases pending in this state.”
In February, the Dayak National Congress passed a resolution urging the state government to set up a Sarawak registration department and take full control from the federal government in issuing birth certificates and identity cards for Sarawakians.
The congress had said then that this was well within their rights as negotiated under the Malaysia Agreement 1963. – The Vibes, April 12, 2022
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