DALAT: There were a total of 7,164 applications involving late birth registration throughout Sarawak since 2015 until March this year.
From that number, 4,629 were approved, according to Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development, Dato Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah.
“2,357 were rejected and 178 are still actively processed. Those applications of over 7,000 were the result of 171 operations undertaken by our Special Task Force Programme (PPK) since 2015 until last month,” she said.
Fatimah pointed that the National Registration Department (JPN) had also agreed to extend the implementation date of PPK for the native group, especially to assist those without personal identification document.
“It should have ended last year. However, JPN had agreed to extend the date. This year our focus is on the Penan area and places that has the list of names made through the Advisory Service Centres and District Offices,” she added.
Fatimah, who is also Dalat State Assemblywoman, said this while presenting late registration certificate to the recipients here on Monday.
On another related matter, she wanted to overcome the problem of students with the status of `non citizen’ or `yet to be justified’.
“For that matter, the state JPN is collaborating with the State Education Department (JPNS) to obtain the name list and information of students with such unclear citizenship status.
JPNS has forwarded 1,297 names and made a thorough check of the physical records. It was found that as up to Dec 31 last year, 705 were Malaysian citizens, 81 were non-citizens, 97 yet to be known while 414 were without proper information,” she said.
On the application for citizenship, she disclosed that since 2016 until 23 April this year, a total of 417 applications had been tabled in 16 meetings conducted by the Citizenship Status Special Committee (JKK).
JPN, she said, would continue to assist the rakyat through briefing sessions and dialogues related to births and deaths registration, identity cards, citizenship, marriages and divorces to all the local community leaders, village and longhouse chiefs, penghulus and volunteers through roadshows, walkabout with the local peoples’ representation, NBOS programme and others.
Hence, Fatimah called upon the peoples of Sarawak to ensure that every new born be registered soon after the delivery as most of the related problems thus far were due to the failure of doing so.
She said that the personal or identification document is very important and hoped the people would keep them safely so that it would not fall into unscrupulous hands.
Also present at the function were Assistant Minister of Women, Family and Childhood Development, Rosey Haji Yunus, Assistant Minister of Community Wellbeing Datuk Francis Harden Hollis and Dalat District Officer, Kuah Lei Poh.
