KOTA KINABALU: The Philippines Embassy has made a proposal to the Malaysia National Registration Department (NRD) for a joint civil registration to allow undocumented Filipino migrants here to obtain birth certificates.
“While we wait for the NRD to give answer, our embassy has brought along Philippines Statistics Office personnel to facilitate identification of our citizens to process the certificates,” its Amabassador J Eduardo Malaya said during the first ever formal dinner of the Federation of Filipino Associations in Malaysia (FFAM) here Saturday.
He also said that this is to facilitate the deportation of these Philippine nationals in the absence of a consulate.
“The Philippines and Malaysia are friendly neighbours, and partners in the Asean and of course these countries are next to each other that share a common neighbourhood opportunities as well as challenges,” Malaya said.
Eduardo said that some of these challenges are very complex and take a lot of time to solve such as the current armed group in Lahad Datu.
“I assure that the Philippine Government would do its best to solve Filipino issues in the state,” said Malaya, adding that it was a vital role for Malaysia and the Philippines to work together in solving these issues.
The dinner which was held at Grand Port View Seafood Restaurant was attended by some 400 people.