Thousands register for green MyKad

18 November, 2008- Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Thousands of "stateless" people thronged the National Registration Department (NRD) offices at the Federal administration building here and in Tawau, Monday, after the Department announced it will start re-issuing the green MyKad.

In Tawau, the number was estimated at several thousand. Police also had to be called in for crowd control.

Applicants started lining up as early as 8am, forcing the NRD to set up desks, acting as temporary centres, outside its office to handle the large crowd showing up.

Its Public Relations Officer, Jainisah Mohd Noor, said the exercise which started last Saturday nationwide, is strictly for those with Malaysian birth certificates and existing green MyKad holders.

"They must be born in Malaysia. (Usually) in their birth certificates, there is no information about the parents or details about the parents' nationality or documentation status.

"But that does not mean green MyKad holders (or those obtaining it) have been granted citizenship statusÉthey are only temporary residents, not Malaysians," she said, in a telephone interview from Kuala Lumpur.

Like other NRD offices nationwide, she pointed out the office here only receives applications but whether they are granted was up to their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

"The approval process is done on-line and centralised," Jainisah said to a question on foreigners or illegal immigrants trying to pull a fast one on NRD.

"We will not issue such documents to just anyone or foreigners."

She said the card is a form of documentation to the holders to show they are stateless but registered with the NRD and to make it easier for these people to carry out personal transactions involving money and such.

Meanwhile, NRD staff had to block access to the applicants into their main office, allowing only customers with other registration transactions in, to avoid congestion while at one point the police had to be called in.

Several green MyKad applicants insisted on entering the office despite being told the counters were already fixed outside.

An applicant, Jaratilluah Abrudasis said she had been waiting since 8am for her number, adding she had also come last Saturday but there were too many people.

"I've tried applying for citizenship status before but failed," said the 35-year-old whose parents were from the Philippines.

She claimed she was born in Sabah when her parents arrived in Kudat in 1972 and has been in the district ever since.

"I don't have any information about my parents but I have this Malaysian birth certificate with me so hopefully I can get the green IC," she said.

Filipino labourer, Siti bin Pirisini, 46, was one of those trying to obtain the card for his sons, aged 15 and 14, who were detained by police previously, claiming they were also born in Sabah.

"My sons were born in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital," he claimed, before adding, "but the authorities suspected my sons' birth certificates as being dubious."

"They said they had never seen such documents because they are different from the normal (local) ones. So I hope to get the green ICs so they will not run into trouble in future," he said.

In TAWAU, more than a thousand people gathered as early as 6am to be first in line to apply for the green MyKad at the National Registration Department (NRD) office here, Monday.

A NRD officer, who declined to be named, said they could not process any application because the people who gathered refused to follow their turns despite the staff warning no one would be entertained if the matter persists.

In light of this, the NRD has set this coming Saturday and Sunday to issue turn numbers to the applicants, the officer said, adding about 5,000 numbers would be given out.

Green MyKad move queried

Kota Kinabalu: Both Sabah Barisan Nasional and opposition leaders Tuesday questioned the current registration of "stateless people" at National Registration Department offices statewide that would enable them to obtain the green MyKad.

They feared that the document would end up not in the hands of "stateless" locals in the interior but to foreigners who may be armed with birth certs issued by hospitals in Sabah.

They said the Federal Government's decision to issue the green MyKad should have been explained fully to the people before the NRD went ahead.

Already IMM13 holders and illegal immigrants with children born in the State are treating it as an opportunity to make their presence in the State easier and trouble free, said Moyog Assemblyman, Donald Mojuntin.

"We can gauge this by their numbers congesting the NRD offices here and in Tawau," he said on the sidelines of the State Budget sitting, Tuesday.

The Daily Express reported that thousands of "stateless" people had thronged the NRD offices at both places, some as early as 6am, since the weekend after the department announced it will start re-issuing the green MyKad.

It is understood that holders of the Green MyKad are allowed to work without requiring a permit and the card is valid for five years. If they are found to be involved in criminal activities during this period, the document would be revoked. A birth certificate is necessary for the registration.

"I would have thought the ultimate purpose of the issuance of the green MyKad is to ease the problem of genuine Malaysians who have trouble getting their citizenship due to the fact that their parents did not register their birth. This is due to many factors such as geographical and lack of knowledge on the need for such an important document. I believe this problem is prevalent in Sabah, especially in areas like Sindumin, Paitan and Pensiangan," said Donald, who is also State Assistant Minister of Resource Development and Information Technology.

He said even in Penampang, which can be regarded as a suburban area, he had received, in his capacity as Chairman of the Upko Citizenship and Security Bureau, a number of cases involving "anak watan" (native) Sabah who have no birth certificate and, therefore, not citizens of Malaysia.

This birth certificate problem is real and needs a focused effort to sort out, he said, adding the issuance of the green MyKad should be prioritised to locals without birth certificates who are waiting for their late registration of birth to be approved and, subsequently, would be waiting for their citizenship application to be considered.

"What we don't want is this exercise further aggravating the perception among the genuine Sabah populace that it is easier for illegals to obtain identity documents than for locals to do so," he said.

19 November, 2008 - Daily Express