Digest on Malaysian News

Another news clip on Malaysian citizen without MyKad. According to Nurul Haslinda Abu Hasan, Johor National Registration Department refused to issue her with a birth certificate because her father only apply for it 14 days after her birth.

Valid reasons for the delay were given by her father to the officer at NRD but without luck. And 24 years later, Nurul Haslinda still hasn't got her Berth Certificate and MyKad.

Who to blame? The NRD officer who refused her application for Birth Certificate is probable already dead.

From TheStar

BALING: A 24-year-old woman from Kampung Tanjong Pari is having sleepless nights as she does not have a birth certificate and the MyKad.

Because of this, Johor Baru-born Nurul Haslinda Abu Hasan, the fourth of seven siblings, is unable to even marry.

“According to my parents, the National Registration Department would not issue my birth certificate because it was reported after 14 days,” she said.

Nurul Haslinda said the reason for the delay was because her mother had become paralysed after giving birth to her causing the father to bring the family to Baling.

“I was allowed to attend school but could not sit for any examinations. My father has tried six times to get me registered but to no avail.

“I hope someone can help me in my predicament,” she added. Self employed Abu Hasan, 57, appealed to the NRD to consider his daughter’s case as all his other children had such documents. — Bernama

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National Registration Department (NRD) is in the news again. Some 30 villagers from Rumah Panjang Dok Kiai and Rumah Panjang Wak Ngayak at Mile 14 Sungai Teniku, about 24 km from Miri, are still waiting a long time for their MyKad and birth certificates.

They applied for the document in 2005 from the NRD and seems that NRD is sleeping on the processing and approval of their documents.

Related Posts:
* Responses to NRD on Sarawak-born stateless (undetermined persons)
* NRD must settle the stateless cases fast
* Incompetent National Registration Department

From TheBorneoPost

Longhouse folk worried over long delay in MyKad

By Anthony Joseph

MIRI: Ako Burong is still waiting for his MyKad (IC) even though he applied for it in 2005.

The 28-year-old from Rumah Panjang Dok Kiai still depends on a temporary IC which he produces when applying for a job.

On seeing this IC receipt, many employers are reluctant to hire him out of fear that he might be or be mistaken for an illegal immigrant.

Furthermore Ako wishes to drive but was denied the privilege as the Road Transport Department too is doubtful about his nationality.

Ako was among some 30 villagers from Rumah Panjang Dok Kiai and Rumah Panjang Wak Ngayak at Mile 14 Sungai Teniku, about 24 km from here, waiting a long time for their MyKad and birth certificates.

The villagers highlighted their problems to their representative, Senadin assemblyman Lee Kim Shin who is also Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Development and Communication when he visited their longhouses to hand over minor rural project (MRP) grants for development.

In the absence of an IC, Ako cannot live outside the longhouse and is restricted to farming and doing odd jobs in a nearby plantation.

“I produce my temporary IC every time I apply for a job. If I am lucky, I get the job. I understand the employers’ concern that without an IC, I could easily be mistaken for an illegal immigrant,” Ako told thesundaypost, showing his temporary IC and birth certificate.

Ako is puzzled, disappointed and worried about the delay in getting his IC even though he has a birth certificate to prove he is a Malaysian citizen. He applied for the document in 2005.

“I want to know the reason behind the delay by the National Registration Department (NRD) in issuing my application as all my three other siblings have obtained their ICs though they applied later than me,” he said.

He has been in and out of the NRD many times since 2005.

“Every time I made an inquiry, I was told by the officer there that my card is still being processed and awaiting approval. They ask me to check the status once in three months since 2005 but until today I have not received it,” Ako said adding that the last time he went was in June this year.

He said it was a waste of time and money to travel from his longhouse to Miri only to be informed that the card was not ready, and still under process.

Meanwhile three sisters from the same longhouse - Koyan Kiai, 55, Satam, 50 and Puwi, 48 - are without birth certificates and therefore have no ICs.

“Only our brother has a birth certificate; not the three of us as our births were not registered with the NRD by our late father. The three of us applied to be issued with birth certificates in 2002. But until now, we are still waiting for our birth certs,” Koyan said.

She said their applications had been endorsed and supported by the ‘tuai rumah’ (longhouse chief) and an Iban community leader.

According to Koyan, they had been frequenting the NRD office in Miri to check the status of their applications.

“We went to the office more than six times after submitting our application in 2002. However, every time we went there, we were told that our applications had been submitted to Kuching and being processed. We have been given the same answer in the last six years and are tired of it,” she said, hoping the assemblyman would help speed up the process.

Others from Rumah Wak Ngayak facing problems in their MyKad applications are Roseline Sitie Ugak, 32, Dusey, 29, and Seblen Jerome, 22.

They said they regularly visit the NRD office in Miri but to no avail.

Lee assured that he would bring up all these cases to the higher authority.

He said without the documents, it would be hard for them to obtain assistance from the government department and agencies and the private sector.

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Below are the responses to NRD on Sarawak-born stateless (undetermined persons). One time Sarawak-born without MyKad are referred by NRD as stateless. The other time, NRD referred them as undetermined persons.

NRD has been changing the terms instead of taking effort to resolve the complaints.

Related posts:
* NRD must settle the stateless cases fast
* Incompetent National Registration Department

Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=33824 (Apr 11, 2008)

Call to settle ‘stateless’ issue

By Martin Yee

NRD urged to help close long and uncertain chapter in the lives of ‘undetermined persons’

KUCHING: Sarawak-born “undetermined persons” will continue to live like aliens in their place of domicile unless there is another statewide exercise to register them.

Such a move will go a long way towards resolving the lingering issue of so-called “stateless” citizens in Sarawak which was brought to light recently by Kenyah Association committee member Gerarrd Lalo Laeng.

Certainly, prompt action by the National Registration Department (NRD) will help close a long and uncertain chapter in the lives of two female “undetermined persons” — Urai Usang and Elon Bun — from Long Apu, Baram, as well as those of more than 50 others like them in several Kenyah longhouses in Baram District alone.

Gerarrd, a 55-year-old engineer from Long Pelutan, Julan, is grateful to the Education Department for allowing students without identity cards in the area to sit for public examinations. He also thanked Baram Member of Parliament, Datuk Jacob Sagan, and state assemblyman for Telang Usan, Lihan Jok, for their support.

Meanwhile, he took to task NRD Sarawak Customers’ Services officer, Hamid Takip, for alleging that some tua kampung were not genuine when they agreed to stand as referees for IC applications by the longhouse people.

“The tua kampung know the background of the people who live in the longhouse,” he said. The NRD officer also alleged it was possible that the longhouse headmen might allow foreigners to get MyKad and that when a third party was involved, there could be other motives.

“The rural people don’t do this kind of thing. Most Sarawakians don’t want foreigners to settle in their kampung to avoid problems and complications.

“How can he say I, as a third party, might have other motives. I do it for my people out of social obligation with nothing to gain,” Gerarrd stressed.

He said after highlighting the plight of the “stateless,” he received a lot of phone calls supporting moves to solve the problems of not only Urai Usang and Elon Bun but also about 10 others in Long Pelutan, Julan, 15 from Long Apu, 10 from Long Anap and 20 from Long Palai.

“I also know of a Penan longhouse in Palai whose occupants also face similar problems. I used to pass by the area and know the people there well,” Gerarrd added.

He believed communication breakdown and lack of tact on the NRD’s part in dealing with the longhouse people to be one of the reasons why the latter’s applications were not processed.

On the claim that the applicants, mostly illiterate longhouse folk were not sure when asked the reasons for their applications, he said: “You must remember these people cannot understand Bahasa Malaysia spoken by the Semenanjung officers, some of whom only know their own dialect and a smattering of local Malay.

“They should help these people by using interpreters. Many of them complained that when they asked when their ICs would be ready, the standard reply was ‘tunggu dulu’, or ‘tiga bulan’ or ‘boss pergi meeting’.

“Also, the NRD should not use the excuse that their replies cannot reach these people because longhouse people can also receive mail even from overseas.

“Imagine the inconvenience and expenses involved to travel say from the Long Pelutan longhouse to Miri. It costs RM1,000 to hire a four-wheel drive — what about other costs like food and lodging? How could these simple folk afford to come to Kuching?”

Gerarrd noted that Urai’s case was rather peculiar in that she had yet to receive a reply to her application even though she has a birth certificate.

According to him, she was also given a baptismal certificate from the Roman Catholic Mission in her area when she was baptised as a baby. Urai has three sons and a daughter. Her eldest boy, Stanley Lipau, 17, who is also IC-less but has a birth certificate, is still in school but his future is uncertain.

To settle the issue once and for all, Gerarrd proposed a re-registration exercise be organised, saying the NRD helicopter service could fly to a designated area in Long San where all the people without ICs from the neighbouring longhouses could converge for registration.

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Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=33806 (Apr 10, 2008)

Those without MyKad are ‘undetermined persons’: NRD

KUCHING: People without identity cards or MyKad are categorised as ‘undetermined persons’ and not ‘stateless’ people by the National Registration Department (NRD).

NRD Sarawak’s customer services officer Hamid Takip clarified this yesterday when asked to comment on the plight of two longhouse residents in Long Apu, Ulu Baram, was highlighted on the front page of thesundaypost.

The two Kenyah women in their 50s, Urai Usang and Elon Bun from Long Apu, Ulu Baram, who were born in Sarawak are frustrated because they do not have identity cards despite making two attempts to get one.

Kenyah Association treasurer and a member of the longhouse JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) Gerard Lalo Leng was reported to have helped bring a group of people including Urai to NRD Miri office in 2002 to have their ICs made.

“For people who have lived in Sarawak for a long time and are born here, we recognise them as ‘undetermined persons’ because they do not have documents like birth certificates and identity cards,” said Hamid.

He said these people were mostly those who lived in the remote rural areas and were illiterate and did not understand the need to have any personal documents. Hamid said such people might have applied for MyKad but were unable to get them due to various reasons.

“They could have applied for the cards but did not submit complete documents as required by the department. Sometimes, we are unable to reach them in order to tell them to submit the necessary papers through the post.

“At other times, they did not come to our branches personally to apply for the MyKad themselves, but through a third party, who could be sincere and genuinely trying to help them but there are also devious people out there trying to use their ignorance to cheat them.

“We have to be extra careful when people apply for identity cards through a third party because we do not want them to get cheated,” Hamid said.

In another report published by The Borneo Post two days ago (April 8) , Telang Usan assemblyman Lihan Jok was quoted as saying that he understood that some officers were reluctant to approve these applications as there were stringent procedures to follow and therefore they were very careful.

However, Lihan said the officers should not question their applications, especially after their village headmen, penghulu and elected representatives had supported their applications.

Hamid said the state NRD had contacted its Marudi branch, and was now looking into the matter and studying the real situation in Urai’s case.

“Another reason could be that a person, after applying for the identity card, could have moved elsewhere and thus we were unable to trace him or her whereabouts,” said Hamid.

“Normally, if a person submits an application at our nearest office, say in Marudi, our staff there would check the application and forward it to our headquarters in Kuching for approval.

“We will process the application and if there is any problem like insufficient supporting documents, we will inform our Marudi office, which will in turn inform the applicant,” said Hamid.

He said the problem of contacting the person concerned might arise when he/she had moved elsewhere, and due to some miscommunication between both parties, the time taken to process a MyKad application was affected.

“We also have a mobile unit that goes to remote areas to provide services to save the rural folk time and expenses of going all the way to the nearest branches.

“In remote places like Long Busang in Ulu Belaga that are inaccessible by river or road transport, our mobile unit will go there by helicopter,” he added.

He said the mobile unit, based in Kuching, had schedules to follow when visiting the rural areas.

Hamid said the department always tried its best to help the people by making it convenient for them to apply for MyKad.

“As you can see in our office here, we have put up a lot of signages, posters, info television, suggestion box and pamphlets to inform, advise and educate the public on how to go about applying for a MyKad in our efforts to provide quality services.

“We also have a special counter to help senior citizens, people with special needs and expectant mothers,” he added. He said if the public had any complaints, suggestions or enquiries, they could call the department at 082-234054.


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Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=33805 (Apr 10, 2008)

Sagan wants ‘stateless’ issue solved fast

KUCHING: Baram Member of Parliament Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan (pictured right) wants the National Registration Department (NRD) to solve the stateless issue in Sarawak fast.

He said the department and other authorities concerned should buck up and solve the problem, which was affecting many people in the rural areas.

“I believe that if village heads or community leaders have already certified them (people who are stateless) as Malaysians, I don’t see why they cannot get their ICs processed.

“I suggest that the NRD look into the matter right away as without such document these people will not be able to enjoy government assistance like medical services while their children will not be able to go to school,” he said when contacted through an SMS interview yesterday.

Sagan, who is Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry said this in response to thesundaypost’s story that highlighted the plight of two stateless Kenyah women in their 50s, Urai Usang and Elon Bun, from Long Apu, Ulu Baram.

They are among the more than 20 people from the longhouse who are stateless because they still do not have any identity cards even after two attempts to apply for one, although born and bred in Sarawak.

Following the report, The Borneo Post received a call from a man in Kpg Benuk near here, who only wished to be known as John, claiming that his uncle had also been suffering the same fate for 70 years.

He said his illiterate uncle had tried to apply for an identity card many times in the past but was unsuccessful each time.

“Last year, I helped him to apply for one, and enclosed with the application form were recommendation letters from the village headman, penghulu and the local MP Datuk James Dawos Mamit.”

Six months have passed but there was still no news of the outcome of the application, he said, adding that he had visited the NRD counter here at least three times and also called them up more than 10 times in the last three months.

“If the department does not believe in the letters signed by the community leaders and the people’s elected representative, I suggest the department carry out DNA test on my uncle and the whole family to prove that he’s truly our relative and a local,” he said.

John said his uncle had been deprived of government assistance such as going to government clinics or any private clinic whenever he got sick.

“He does not have a birth certificate nor an identity card. He only has a receipt bearing his name certifying that he is a participant of a rubber-planting scheme issued during the British colonial rule.

“Being stateless, he can’t travel to anywhere, not even to the hospital. When he is sick, he relies on traditional medicine at the village,” he said.

His uncle’s two younger sisters all have their identity cards, he added.

He said if the NRD could not even solve the (stateless) problem among people living near the city, it would be worse for those living in the deep interior like the Baram.

The Borneo Post also received an email from one Luca Ceschin who claimed that he knew a Bidayuh family of 10 living just two hours’ drive from the city, who were also stateless.

This family experienced the same fate as the two Kenyah women in Ulu Baram.

He said the family had tried many times to apply for identity cards but had always been unsuccessful.

He said it was unfair that thieves, drug dealers and gangsters had more rights than the law-abiding albeit stateless people - just because they had their precious identity cards.

“The four words ‘You don’t have ID’ seem to be more powerful than a gun in hand,” he said.

He hoped the authorities would help these stateless people fast otherwise they would continue to be trampled upon and not enjoy their rights as citizens of this country.

National Registration Department must settle the stateless cases fast and not just look at the cases. Looking at the cases and settling them are two different things. Looking at it might just involve some sleepy officers making another review but no one to decide on the case.

While it was a good effort by Hamid Takip of Sarawak NRD to response to article published in the local newspapers, some of his remark still lead us around the bushes.
He also give excuse of communication breakdown about the department and the people. I think it's a communication breakdown within the departments itself. Maybe Miri NRD sleep on the case and so Kuching NRD just wait and sit on the case as well.

Hamid Takip mentioned that decision will be made within a month, but the reported case has been overdue for so long and it make NRD look very incompetent.

Hamid also mentioned that local branches are empowered to process the application but due to logistic problem, approval of the application can run into months. Despite the widespread of telecommunication facilities such as fixed line phone, mobile phone, fax, Internet and even courier services between Kuching and major towns in Sarawak, government department still whine about logistics problem in dealing with paper works and application processing. A typical slow working attitude among Malaysian government servants.

Related post:
* Incompetent National Registration Department

Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=33690 (Apr 08, 2008)

NRD seriously looking into ‘stateless’ cases

By Puvaneswary Devindran and Zora Chan

KUCHING: The National Registration Department (NRD) has assured that it would be giving top priority to those ‘stateless’ cases, saying it was never its intention to cause the people so much trouble.

NRD customer service unit head Hamid Takip told The Borneo Post that he had just come out of a meeting to discuss the ‘Plight of the Stateless’ article published in thesundaypost.

He said the meeting agreed that the plight of the stateless Kenyahs and others facing similar problem would be looked into immediately.

In fact, he said, what had taken place in Ulu Baram were old cases that the department categorised under “unsettled query”.

He felt that the root cause of the problem was the communication breakdown between the department and the people.

Hamid said with regards to the “unsettled query” cases the department was aiming to reach either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision as soon as possible so as not to burden the applicants.

“If it’s a ‘yes’, then we will straight away issue the birth certificate and also a MyKad, but if it’s a ‘no’, then we will talk to them to see if they want to apply again and be asked to come in for an interview,” he said.

Issuing out government documents was “no joking matter”, as such applicants should bring with them as many proofs as possible to substantiate their applications, he said.

“If 80 to 90 per cent of their story checks out true, then we will approve their applications but in some cases, they would give conflicting information and not firm in their answers. This creates doubts you see, so it’s difficult to give an approval,” he said.

He said unclear cases would be referred to a special committee at the department’s headquarters in Kuching for confirmation.

In any “straightforward” case, it would not take long to get a confirmation, while in cases deemed as “chronic”, the process would take much longer, he said.

According to Hamid, a decision would normally be reached with one month for any ‘chronic’ case.

The process of confirming unclear cases could also be done in nearby branches of NRD but this would take even longer, probably three months just to know the fate of an application, because of the logistics involved, he said.

According to him, applicants in the remote areas need not come all the way to the NRD headquarters in Kuching because the local branches are empowered to do all the processing.

In fact, he said, if the department is duly and properly notified, its mobile unit is ever ready to visit applicants at certain common locations in the rural areas to process applications of those unable to travel to the NRD offices in their areas.

The mobile unit was set up because the department understood that travelling to get their personal documents done could be quite troublesome and especially expensive for those living in the state’s remote districts, Hamid said.

He said, as of now, the mobile unit had its own schedule and would normally go outstation once a month and set up camp at schools.

Besides the scheduled visit, the unit would also make the trip at the request of the elected representatives, he added.

He pointed out the NRD would notify the district officer (DO) of its planned visit, and the DO would in turn relay the news to the community leaders for them to tell their people.

Unfortunately, despite this, some still could not make it the mobile unit, he said.

Calling on the people concerned to make every effort to meet up with the mobile team, he said the unit was also empowered to approve applications if they were found to be satisfactory.

“In any case, if you are told to go to another branch or to headquarters, do not hesitate to call up first to find out if it was really necessary for you to travel all the way. It is your right to call us on the status of your applications,” he said.

He said it was the duty of all NRD officers to facilitate and not frustrate the people and that it was also their duty to explain thoroughly to them the process.

He conceded that miscommunication between the department and the people did take place from time to time but assured that it had a well kept record of those who had applied before.

“What we are scared of is if the people go through a third party and there are a few syndicates who are out to cheat the people. There are some cases, the applicants show up with ‘receipts’ but when checked, there are simply no records of their applications with us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hamid also confirmed that NRD does accept documents certified by community leaders, but only if the community leaders are from the same place as the applicants.

According to NRD’s brochure, among others, it says a person whose citizenship has yet to be determined but born on and after Aug 31, 1957 can apply for MyKad. Their applications are to be supported by birth certificate, identity card, parents’ birth certificate, parents’ identity cards, parents’ citizenship certificates, whatever documents that can prove that parents are permanent residents, applicant’s and parents’ travelling documents (if born overseas), and parents’ marriage certificate.

For those born before Aug 31, 1957, applications need to be supported with birth certificate, identity card, parents’ birth certificates and whatever documents that can prove that applicant’s father is Malaysian or a ‘rakyat’ of the Sultan.

For those born after Sept 16, 1963, applications must be supported by birth certificate, whatever documents that can prove that parents are permanent residents or Malaysians, parents’ marriage certificate, applicant’s and parents’ travelling documents (if born overseas), and parents’ marriage certificate.