Teaming up to register births

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Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

Home Ministry roping in hospitals, clinics to solve problem of late birth registration in Sarawak

KUCHING: The Home Ministry will work with the Health Ministry in the state to overcome the problem of late registration of births and stateless individuals in the state through the National Registration Department (NRD) especially in rural Sarawak.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who announced the extension of this collaboration in Sarawak said it was a continuation of a similar arrangement after its successful implementation in Kuala Lumpur.

“Immediately after delivery in the state’s hospitals those responsible will key in the babies’ particulars into the system which is connected to the NRD’s command centre.”

He said that there had been many instances where after delivery the mother and baby would go back to their longhouse or village without registering the birth within 42 days after delivery.

Wan Junaidi was confident the cooperation with the Health Department would help NRD solve late registration problems for those who are born in hospitals.

He added that flying doctors could also play an important role in the big picture as they could help key in the data of newborns and submit them to the NRD.

Speaking to reporters after paying a courtesy call on Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud at his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia here yesterday, Wan Junaidi said late registration of births was not a new issue for it had been highlighted regularly in Parliament and the State Legislative Assembly (DUN).

Wan Junaidi, who is also Santubong MP pointed out that the state had its own laws which enabled community leaders
such as ‘kapitan’ and ‘tuai rumah’ to verify the legitimacy of newborns who are more than 42 days old.

“Various documents are needed to verify that a child indeed belongs to the said parents.”

Wan Junaidi added that during the meeting, Taib also stressed the importance of preventing registering foreign newborns in the state through loopholes in the system.

He assured that the ministry would improve its operations to address this problem.

“However, I am sure that the NRD (National Registration Department) is strict on this matter as they had been using DNA tests to determine the legitimacy of newborns.”

On the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the Sabah immigrant issue, Wan Junaidi said the ministry would let
the RCI determine the right method to resolve the issue for Sabah.

Asked about intermarriages between couples from villages near the border, he said Taib
had also brought up this matter but he was confident that the ministry’s outreach programmes would be able to address this issue.

Wan Junaidi, who was accompanied by NRD director-general Datuk Jariah Mohd Said, also paid a courtesy call on Special Functions Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, who is also Yayasan Sarawak chairman.