TAWAU – The Home Ministry should start taking action now to ease the process of birth registration in rural areas, said Sri Tanjong assemblyman Justin Wong.
He said there are still many rural villagers, including those living in interior areas of Sabah and large palm oil estates, who do not know that they need to register for their marriage to apply for birth certificates for their children, which would determine their children’s citizenship.
The Warisan rep said he met with Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail last week and expressed his concerns about the issue, presenting ideas for a solution.
“I was told that the ministry has one National Registration Department (NRD) mobile counter – a bus that is going into rural areas in Sabah, and they are adding another two buses soon.
“But buses could not go to rural villages that have bad roads. So I suggested for the ministry to use a four-wheel drive instead, and have people’s representatives from respective constituencies to act as coordinator, to help direct the NRD officers and mobile counters to the area that need their service,” he said in a statement today.
Wong said that the NRD should also conduct awareness programmes to ensure that rural villagers are aware of the procedures and documents needed for them to register their children’s birth certificates.
He said that he has seen many cases involving children and teenagers in Tawau who were rejected from schools because they did not have citizenship as their parents did not register for their marriage.
“This problem will only snowball into a large social problem as they grow up not being able to get a job and get an income (without the education), and turn to crime to survive,” he said.
During Wong’s official visit to Saifuddin’s office in Putrajaya, Wong also submitted over 20 applications for citizenship from Tawau residents for the minister’s consideration.
He said that according to Saifuddin applicants who are aged over 21 with a Malaysian father and non-citizen mother without a marriage certificate can still apply for legal status in Malaysia by applying to become a temporary resident and be given a green identification card, MyKas, that needs to be renewed once in five years.
Wong was also told that parents who have registered for marriage but whose children are under the age of 18 and still do not have birth certificates can still apply for citizenship.
“These are exactly the kind of matters that need to be informed to the rural villagers via NRD awareness campaigns and promotion programmes before it is too late,” he said. – The Vibes, April 15, 2023
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