Special task force ups effort to identify children without birth cert, identity documents
Fatimah (right) talks to one of the applicants. Seen at second left is Chukpai.
SEBAUH: A special task force, a strategic partnership between the state National Registration Department and Education Department, will intensify its outreach programme to address the issue of children without identification documents.
Minister for Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said the task force, which was formed on Sept 15, 2015, had to rush against time to carry out 50 operations by end of this year.
So far, the task force has received a total of 549 applications for late birth registration in the first three months of this year through 15 operations.
“The task force panel and a technical committee have approved 377 applications, 165 rejected and seven applications still being processed by the technical committee,” she said at the presentation of birth certificates to 12 pupils at SK Bukit Balai near here yesterday.
She said priority was being given to the rural areas to look out for students without birth certificates ‘because they are the future leaders of this country and they need to get the best education’.
“Without birth certificates, they will not get the same privilege and educational opportunities like other students with Malaysian citizenship,” said Fatimah.
She added that several factors had led to applications being rejected by the interview panel on the field and by the technical committee.
The applicants’ background must be verified by their community leaders such as longhouse or village chiefs or penghulus, who will need to sign a statutory declaration. Fatimah said in some cases during the interview, the applicants claimed they were not born in Malaysia but had resided in the country for more than 20 years.
“There are also evidence of the applicants having identification documents from other countries which is also a factor for their applications being rejected,” she added.
For the record, from the 63 operations conducted last year, a total of 4,098 applications were received for late birth registration and 2,885 applications approved while the rest were rejected due to various reasons.
For the cases in SK Bukit Balai, Fatimah said the headmaster had informed the NRD that they had pupils still without identification documents. The immediate task of the task force was to conduct an interview on the ground and identify the 14 pupils without birth certificates.
Twelve pupils were issued with both birth certificates and Malaysian citizenship. Two others were only issued birth certificates while one applicant was issued a birth certificate but the citizenship status is undetermined.
“In cases like these, when the mother has no identification document we have to solve her (mother) case first. If the children are born under the native customary law, we need proof.
“This is where the Sarawak Native Customs Council comes in – to issue a special document to facilitate the registration of birth certificate and Malaysian citizenship,” she said.
She also said marriages registered under native customary law, must also be registered with their respective district offices.
Murum assemblyman Kennedy Chukpai Ugun, NRD state director Jasni Jubli , Sebauh district officer Desmond Douglas Jerukan, SK Bukit Balai headmaster Mangai Tugau and Sebauh Education officer Tero Bayel were among those present at the function.