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