Digest on Malaysian News

http://www.jpn.gov.my/ the National Registration Department's (NRD) official website crashed after the Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop announced that Malaysian can replace their MyKad through online application. Their website is not prepared in the surge of traffic and I am now more doubtful if their application is secured or not.



Via TheStar: Application to replace IC can be done online

The public can now apply for a replacement of their MyKad online through the National Registration Department's (NRD) official website.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said the alternative method would allow people to obtain their identity cards without having to go to the NRD counters which would also help reduce congestion at the NRD headquarters and its branches.

“There are three different kinds of replacement applications, viz for damaged chips or cards, normal replacement and replacement of lost MyKad not more than five times,” he said after opening the 2010 Excellent Service Awards 2010 presentation to 341 NRD staff members here yesterday.

Also present was NRD director-general Datuk Alwi Ibrahim.

Abu Seman said online payment for replacement cards could be made using credit cards, while the e-Banking facility would be made available in the future.

He said applications could be made through NRD's portal from 8am to 11pm on Monday to Friday, 8am to 2pm on Saturday and 8am to 9pm on Sunday.

“Applicants can view the status of their MyKad applications online and select where to collect their cards from.”

He said so far, the department had received 15 applications since the trial run on April 15, including one from a Malaysian in Australia.

The time taken to process the online applications is the same as for counter applications, which is 24 hours for those collecting from the Putrajaya NRD, 10 working days from any other NRD office in the peninsula and 30 working days from any NRD branch in Sabah, Sarawak or Labuan, reported Bernama.

Meanwhile, Malaysians living overseas lauded the development, saying the new online application process for their MyKad was a timely change.

They said the new method of online application at www.jpn.gov.my would save them from having to go through the hassle of travelling to Malaysian embassies in the country where they were staying to apply.

Sam Loke, 29, a postgraduate student in finance from the University of Queensland said the move will benefit students the most.

“Usually if we want to get replacements, we have to make a trip to Canberra where the High Commission is. This means we have to skip classes, which is hard to do,” he said.

“The online application brings much convenience and I'm thankful that the Government has decided to introduce this,” he added.

Canterbury Malaysian Students' Association president Poh Eng Eu, 22, said he had just applied for his MyKad a few weeks ago when he returned to Malaysia.

“If I had known, I would have done it online because it is so much easier,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Malaysian Students' Association in Japan president Awadh Asyraf Supri hoped the new system would work out as he remembered how congested NRD offices were when he went to get his MyKad.

Malaysia is becoming more famous internationally for the wrong reason. Malaysia is now ranked among the top 10 illegal wildlife smuggling hubs in the world, specialising in transporting pangolins, birds and clouded monitor lizards.

The wildlife is smuggled out of the country through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Penang International Airport, and through the sea via Johor. And I thought our Airports are pretty secured.

Apparently the security at our airports suck and enforcement from the Foresty, Wildlife, National Parks and the Police all closed their eyes on this issue. Yes, Syed Hamid Albar is also to be blamed.

From TheStar

Malaysia a hub for wildlife smuggling
By YENG AI CHUN

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is ranked among the top 10 illegal wildlife smuggling hubs in the world, specialising in transporting pangolins, birds and clouded monitor lizards.

The wildlife is smuggled out of the country through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Penang International Airport, and through the sea via Johor.

South-East Asia regional director for Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network Traffic Azrina Abdullah said Malaysia was a transit and harvest hub for illegal wildlife trade.

“We are among the top 10 smuggling hubs together with Manila, Medan, Singapore and the United States.

“Hanoi is also catching up as a smuggling hub,’’ she said after attending a lecture by Bryan Christy, the author of The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passion of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia yesterday.

During the talk, Christy touched on a chapter in his book which chronicled the dealings of a Penangite regarded as the top reptile smuggler in the world.

Azrina said the smuggled wildlife would end up in cooking pots in China; pet shops in Germany, the European Union countries and the United States.

“It is especially easy to smuggle reptiles because they are small and cold blooded,” she said.

She added that one could smuggle a snake by “balling” it and tying it up for long flights as it could withstand cold temperatures and survive on minimal food.

“Smugglers are also known to export dangerous wildlife species with valid papers as a front. The illegal wildlife are placed below the legal ones,” she said.

She added some smugglers even dispensed tips to buyers on how to smuggle their new ‘pet’ home on a long haul flight.

Azrina said Malaysia was the preferred hub because of its strategic location and low-risk.

“If you get caught smuggling drugs, you can be hanged. But if you are caught smuggling a tiger, you are fined,’’ she said.

Azrina said NGOs were lobbying for stricter laws under the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 (PWA).

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Apparently the plights of the longhouse dwellers from Sungai Asap resettlement has became a controversy and the dwellers are urging the Anti Corruption Agency to investigate the case.

So far, James Masing and Dr Elli Luhat has responded to the issue. Jabu and Billy Abit remains silent.

The issues are the road leading to Sungai Asap has been neglected and is in bad shape. It was damaged by heavy trucks and lorries belonging to timber companies that have timber concession in the surrounding areas. Not only the timber companies profit from making the jungle bare but their heavy vehicles are the king of the road.

Road maintenance by JKR is none. Monitoring of road uses by JPJ is also rare. STIDC somehow stop their officer from conducting enforcement.

Request for repair or upgrade and complaints have been raised years ago but fell on deaf ears.

Without looking further, the main culprits are the timber companies who have spend kick back to the JPJ, STIDC and Police to keep them away and not doing their job to ensure road users safety. JKR being a typically red-taped department will give excuses that the road is damaged by heavy trucks and it should be the task of JPJ, STIDC and Police to look into the matter.

So while JKR, JPJ, STIDC, Police and the YB pointing fingers at each other, the Sungai Asap road is slowly but surely turning from road to muddy path. That's Malaysian mentality.

Related posts:
* Longhouse dwellers in Sungai Asap deprived of good road





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Source: Borneo Post

Asap resident calls for ACA probe

By Churchill Edward

Bintulu-Sungai Asap road still in bad condition: Elli

KUCHING: A resident of Sungai Asap in Belaga has called on the state Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to investigate the controversies surrounding the poor condition of the Bintulu-Sungai Asap road caused by logging trucks and trailers.

Dr Elli Luhat, a former logging safety officer of the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC), said half of the 100 KM-long road was still in poor condition even though the issue was first raised more than five years ago.

When he campaigned for road safety in 2002 and 2003, he was told by the truckers that the road then was not gazetted as public road and therefore they could use it.

After so many years had passed, he said he still did not know the exact status of the road now, Elli told The Borneo Post yesterday.

“If it is a public road, then the logging trucks have no right to ply along the road unless they have permits. But I must say that the status is still a mystery to me.”

“I proposed that the ACA comes in and probe because the issue on poor road condition and related issues has been dragging for too long,” he said when expressing his disappointment over the matter.

During the safety campaign in 2002 and 2003, he was tasked to collect data on the road’s condition and safety as well as organizing talks for villagers on the issue.

Elli who is now attached to another unit in STIDC, said his main concern was the safety of motorists using smaller vehicles along the road, especially along stretches near Tubau. As he hails from Rh Juman Asap in Belaga, he was personally affected and had all the more reasons to be concerned by the situation.

“The logging trucks are still the kings on the road there,” he said pointing out that the truckers pose safety hazard and personal danger to other motorists daily.

He volunteered to assist the authorities, including the ACA if they were to probe on the matter.

Elli also thanked Land Development Minister Dato Sri Dr James Masing for again highlighting the issue in the media.

He said he shared Masing’s views and concerns for the people in Asap, particularly the motorists who depended heavily on the road. He supported Masing’s call upon Public Works Department (JKR) and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to address related issues and to solve the problems immediately.

The road - dubbed the Bakun highway - leads to Bakun Hydro dam site and Sungai Asap resettlement area. It was tar-sealed about ten years ago but is in very poor condition today, he added.

Elli stressed that at one time in 2003, a local newspaper described the truckers as “Killer truckers on a public road” just to amplify the seriousness of the danger they posed to the public.

The police and JPJ often conducted road blocks but problems involving them (truckers) and poor road condition still persisted until today, he added.

In 2003, he personally caught two over-loaded trucks red-handed and one of his proposed talks had to be canceled a day earlier by a directive from STIDC but he did not know the exact reason for the cancellation, he said.

On Tuesday Masing, who used to be the minister-in-charge of Sungai Asap resettlement scheme, said he wanted answers from the relevant authorities especially the JKR and JPJ over the poor condition of the road.

“I am not very happy. It appears that the timber trucks are kings of the road when they should be banned (from using the road in the first place).

“Because of the poor condition, the road is like a death trap for people traveling in smaller vehicles,” Masing who is Baleh assemblyman said when met during a break of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting.

Masing stressed that both JKR and JPJ could have played a better role by respectively repairing the road and monitoring the users. “These authorities concerned should not have let heavy vehicles use the road,” he pointed out.

He was responding to a news report in The Borneo Post on May 13 on welfare chairman of Rh Belor village security and development committee Danny Bungan saying many stretches along the road were now riddled with potholes.

Claiming to speak on behalf of the 10,000 folk from the 15 longhouses in the area located near Bakun, he said it was extremely dangerous to use the road at night especially when it rained.

SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee has warned the federal government to buck up and resolve real problems in Sabah instead of worrying about MPs defected to the Pakatan Rakyat side. Kudos to Yong for giving the Barisan Nasional an ultimatum.

Problem like illegal immigrants, abuse in issuance of MyKad, insufficient oil royalty, insufficient federal funding, exorbitant transportation charges among others have been plaguing Sabah for decades. Due to illegal immigrants, Sabah population has been rising at a mercurial rate. Due to issuance of MyKad to illegal immigrants, UMNO votes are alway guaranteed. Due to lack funding, rakyat Sabah suffer frequent electricity and water supply outage.

If not for Sabah tourism which generate substantial revenue to the state treasury, Sabah would be among the poorest states in Malaysia.

I doubt that the Barisan Nasional will look seriously at Yong's warning. Badawi will probably snubbed him and branded him as the potential frog will be jump over to Pakatan Rakyat's pond.

Time will tell but one thing for certain is that Sabah problems will remain unless the Sabahan take a drastic change. As the saying goes, fate is in their hands.






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Source: thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/13/nation/20080513171913&sec=nation (May 13, 2008)

SAPP gives Barisan an ultimatum

By ELIZABETH LOOI


KUALA LUMPUR: SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee has given Barisan Nasional until August to resolve the issues in Sabah.

After August, there will be no guarantee that SAPP members will remain in Barisan, he said.

He however said the 16 Sabah MPs, who were speculated to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, were not from SAPP.

He added that this did not mean Barisan leaders should rule out the possibility that his members could leave the coalition in the near future.

He said now is the time for Sabah to demand requests from the Federal Government.

"This is the best time for Sabah but it is also the most important time for Barisan to do something for Sabah because if we do not do something, Sabah will be returned to its subservient role after August as September is the fasting month, October is the Hari Raya festivities and December is when the Umno general election will be held.

"If nothing happens, an explosion will happen in January, where the Opposition will come into play," he told reporters Tuesday in the Parliament lobby here.

Asked if he was approached by Pakatan Rakyat or the party’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, he said it was not necessary to be approached as Anwar had already announced an attractive offer during the election campaign.

"Anwar is clearly a factor, the announcement of Sabah getting 20% of oil royalties means we will get RM2bil a year," he said.

Yong also said the real issue in Sabah was not whether the Barisan MPs would cross over but the actual problems that Sabah had been facing.

"A crossover only concerns the central Government because it is worried about its own stability," he said.

He also said if nothing happens until next January, Barisan leaders would "come after those Sabah MPs who are speaking up now."

Earlier, Yong met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and requested that he resolve the issues in Sabah.

He said Abdullah was concerned and said that the Government would look into the issues.

Yong also said the issues such as illegal immigrants and cooking oil subsidies were not new but Barisan had not been doing anything to help them.

Citing the example of the Cooking Oil Subsidy Scheme, he said it was not fair for the Government to force Sabah palm oil planters to bear the subsidies since June 2007, when cooking oil is consumed by the whole country.

"Sabah planters made up two-thirds of the numbers in the country so basically they are paying two-thirds of the subsidies.

"We have raised this issue but the Government kept saying they will look into it and they have been looking into the issue for 11 months already," he said.

Initially I thought this is just another case of serious crime occured at a public place. Never mind, the location of the crime (i.e at glamorous Kuala Lumpur International Airport) since crimes can strike anywhere and anytime.

The sore issue that I want to highlight here is the fact that the multi-million Ringgit CCTVs system installed at the airport serve no purpose at all. It was reported that where the crime occurred was monitored by CCTVs but it were not switched on during the incident. Some how, those CCTVs were only switch on after the robber fled the scene with their loots.

The police could only suspect that those monitoring the CCTVs could be involved (pakat) with the robbers or on the other hand those monitoring the CCTVs are really dumb incompetent.

As such, this incident only add on to the list of Malaysian incompetency. The entire security team that monitor those CCTVs should be sack including their chief security officer. KLIA is a public place and also a major point of entry for foreigners coming to Malaysia and with the lack of security, how would Malaysian and visitors feel safe.

Malaysia Airport Holding Bhd, the company that operates KLIA mentioned that it was not a security breach. Tahi lembu. It is a security breach if the CCTVs was there but not switch on. Yes, another case of "First class infrastructure, third world mentality".

Related post:
* Slack security in KLIA

Extracted from: nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/Frontpage/2210531/Article/index_html (Apr 11, 2008)

KLIA Heist: CCTVs not switched on during shoot-out


KUALA LUMPUR: The closed-circuit television cameras outside the Kuala Lumpur International Airport departure hall were not switched on during the shoot-out.
And it was also revealed that the off-duty policeman, who was initially thought to have been caught in the crossfire, was involved in the shoot-out with the gunmen.

The policeman, however, was hit twice and his police-issued semi-automatic pistol was taken by the gunmen.

Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said checks showed the CCTVs were switched on again after the five-minute shoot-out.

"It has hampered police investigations. We were hoping that the footages from the CCTVs could have provided us with information about the gunmen," Bakri said.
"What's the point of having CCTVs if they are not switched on? It is not for decorative purposes."

Bakri declined to elaborate on the matter but said police were working on several leads, including photofits of the suspects, based on eye-witness accounts.

"We believe that at least two of the gunmen were injured in the shoot-out. We are on the lookout for those seeking treatment for gunshot wounds."

Police are pulling out files on Indian gangs who were linked to similar robberies in the past as the gunmen who shot the moneychangers on Wednesday were said to be of dark complexion and had shouted instructions in Tamil.

The gunmen were believed to have escaped in two four-wheel drives, believed to be a BMW and a Toyota Hilux. Until press time, no arrests have been made, nor have the vehicles been spotted.

Bakri did not discount the possibility that the robbery was an inside job as very few people knew of the moneychangers' movements on Wednesday.

Malaysia Airports Berhad senior general manager (operations) Da-tuk Azmi Murad refused to comment on the CCTVs.

"This is a police case. Let the police comment on this," he said, adding that it was helping police in the investigations.

When pressed further, he said the CCTVs were operated by it.

Two CCTVs are visible at the driveway outside the departure hall.


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Extracted from: nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/Letters/2209764/Article/index_html (Apr 11, 2008

Airport shoot-out: Tighten security at KLIA

By : WILLIAM DENNIS, Subang Jaya

THE attack on moneychangers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday ("Shoot-out at KLIA" -- NST, April 10) is a reminder to the police and government agencies that security at the airport needs to be stepped up.
For a start, the no-waiting and no-parking rules outside the arrival and departure halls at the airport must be enforced.

This is one way to prevent undesirable elements, including touts, from hanging about in the area.

The use of the drop-off point for travellers arriving in taxis should be restricted to that class of public transport.

At present, it is used by all kinds of transport vehicles. Private vehicles dropping off people should do so only at (other) designated areas.
Private vehicles should not be allowed to use the pick-up point for taxis.

Motorists park where they please at the KLIA and at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal. This has been a major problem since the opening of KLIA and LCCT.

As a frequent traveller, I have noticed that the problem is getting worse by the day.

The police and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) security should also consider restrictions on those entering the check-in terminal. Perhaps only air travellers should be allowed in.

Security personnel should check the passenger's ticket against his passport at the entrance to the departure hall: no air ticket, no entry.

This may sound drastic but many airports, including those in the Philippines and China, have implemented this.

Implementing this at KLIA is likely to see the need for an increased workforce, hence an increase in security costs, but prevention is better than cure.

Put the additional cost on the traveller as a security charge but ensure that security is stepped up and that the airport is safe for travellers and workers.

On Tuesday, a passenger bound for Dhaka passed through security at KLIA with a fruit knife and boarded his flight. This is a breach of security. The following day, the robbery took place.

For two serious incidents to take place at the airport on consecutive days prompts me to ask: what next?

The robbery on Wednesday has not only tarnished the image of the airport but also that of the country. Let's hope the security cameras at the airport were functioning at the time of the robbery for the police and MAHB security division to view.

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.

This is about yet another complaint on the incompetency of our National Registration Department, who like to play with red tapes with the native.

I'm sure NRD will expedite the case if it involve the Malay. Instead of sitting in the comfortable offices in Simpang Tiga and outright reject the application, why can't the officer try to solve the problem like sending their team to Ulu Baram.

The Sarawak NRD may be caution about new applications especially if they are already adults but they can outright reject the applicant. They could have investigate further and offer assistant to the applicant. Sarawak NRD is a total opposite of Sabah NRD.

Sabah NRD has been known to be over generous in registering the citizens including free registration of the illegal immigrants. Even illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia have a genuine MyKads.

Related post:
* Restoration of Sabah's rights

Extracted from: theborneopost.com/?p=33628 (Apr 06, 2008)

Plight of the ‘stateless’

SARAWAK had celebrated its 45 years of independence, and also just held a parliamentary election — two events of great significance to the people — but for Urai Usang, a 52-year-old Kenyah, they hold little pride or meaning.

Urai is among some 20 people in her longhouse at Long Apu, Ulu Baram, who are ‘stateless’ because, although born here, they do not have identity cards.

They are in such a predicament reportedly because of bureaucracy, and sheer ignorance on their part.

In 2002, Kenyah Association treasurer and member of the Longhouse JKKK (village committee), Gerard Lalo Laeng, helped bring a group of about 10 ‘stateless people’ from Long Apu to the National Registration Department (NRD) office in Miri to have their ICs made.

They brought along the necessary documents, including letters signed by their village heads and relatives (uncles and aunties) who were IC holders. The longboat trip to Miri cost more than RM500 — petrol, food and lodging — all paid for by Gerard.

A few months later, Gerard travelled down to Kuching to check on the progress of the group’s applications at the NRD office in the state capital.

But he was in for a rude shock.

“Can you bring them to Kuching because we don’t have their records. If they do not come, we cannot do anything,” the registration officer told him.

A disappointed Gerard replied that bringing the group all the way to Kuching was out of the question because being poor longhouse folks, they could not afford the fare.

Surely, the applications done in Miri should have been enough to satisfy the department’s requirements for approving the ICs, he argued.

“Why should the applications not be approved when they were supported by all the right documents such as letters signed by the ketua kampung and relatives, certifying that the applicants were born in Sarawak,” Gerard wondered.

Subsequently, he brought a group of about 10 people, together with all their relevant documents (including Urai’s) and letters chopped and signed by the ketua kampung to Long Julan, Marudi to apply for ICs.

About five months later, he made enquiries over the silence from the NRD regarding the applications.

Gerard could not understand the delay or the lack of response from the authority since he could vouch for the fact that the applicants were born in Sarawak, and have been living with him in the same kampung where they played games like football or ‘gasing’ as kids.

“Why need to ask them for interview in Kuching? Aren’t their documents, chopped and signed by their ketua kampung and relatives, genuine or proof enough?” Gerard asked.

He explained that his late parents were able to register in Marudi when the NRD launched a registration exercise through its first mobile registration unit there in the 1950s.

In the past, he noted, records were properly kept when people submitted their applications for ICs but nowadays, with all the hi-tech equipment, some people were still finding it impossible to apply despite all the relevant documents provided.

Gerard said he was deeply saddened that the ‘stateless people’ in his longhouse were unable to pursue their education and had to work as manual labourers at timber camps, return to their farms getting involved or in drug abuse or vice.

“The children cannot go to school while their parents have to work without employment benefits. Can you imgine that?”

Gerard said what surprised him was that his cousin, Jalong Langan, from Long Palai, also went to Miri to apply for his IC at almost the same time as a group of ‘stateless people’ from his (Gerard’s) longhouse, and had his MyCard approved.

Gerard said his cousin showed him his new MyCard when he (Gerard) went back to his longhouse in Long Julan recently.

He insisted he could attest to Urai being born in Sarawak as they grew up together in the same area.

“I remember we played together as children but she is now considered an Indonesian by the authorities.

“What’s even more sad is that her daughter, a fifth former at SMK Temenggong Lawai Jau in Long San (four hours by boat from Long Pelutan) in Ulu Baram, will not be able to sit for her exam because she does not have an IC.

“These people have no future and when they die, they die like kataks (frogs) because they can’t even get a death certificate,” Gerard lamented.

He said he was blamed for failing to get them their ICs. “They said I, being an educated person, was supposed to be able to help them get their ICs done in Miri but since I failed, who could they turn to for help?”

According to him, Urai’s case could be a little complicated because her poor family gave her up for adoption when she was a toddler.

Her biological father who had an IC, died when she was very young. She came from a background of poverty and illiteracy — so her father did not come to Long San — the nearest settlement — to register her birth.

Gerard said people like Urai and Elon Bun from the same longhouse and many others had made several trips — which they could ill afford — to Marudi and Long Lama to try to apply for ICs.

They had to bear the costs of food and lodging as these places were remote, unlike Miri which is accessible by timber tracks. Some areas in Marudi and Long Apu can only be reached by rivers via different routes.

Urai who studied at SK St Pius, Long San, Ulu Baram, up to only primary 4 in the 1960s, had tried unsuccessfully a few times to obtain her birth certificate and the latest was in 2002 through the ‘flying service’ to Long Apu.

A sizeable number of Sarawakians from a few longhouses in Ulu Baram, face the same fate and their predicament surfaced during the recent elections when they were not eligible to vote.

For these ‘stateless locals’, if they can be called locals, one of their basic rights is missing — an IC.

It is easy to blame poverty and ignorance on the part of these people, but in Ulu Baram, this is not always the case as bureaucracy and policy implementation can also hinder the process.

“Being poor is their death sentence when it comes to getting legally accepted as citizens through the registration of their birth right,” Gerard said.

What has happened to the NRD exercise to register all citizens wherever they may be? Are the remotest parts of the country totally inaccessible or is the administrative system in need of improvement?

Admittedly, a number of factors is involved such as poverty, lack of education or ignorance, indifference or pure bad luck on the part of ‘stateless people’.

But what have happened to efforts to solve these problems by way of dispatching mobile registration units to remote longhouses?

For starters, the authorities could consider accepting documents certified by the village chiefs when processing the applications for ICs from so called ‘stateless people’.

Many people take their ICs for granted but to those people left in the lurch by extenuating family circumstances further compounded by red tape getting an IC is a serious matter — one of being born in a country and yet living in it like a foreigner.