HOME MINISTRY FINALISES OVER 12,000 APPLICATIONS FOR ID DOCUMENTS IN SARAWAK INTERIOR

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- The Home Ministry (KDN) has made decisions on 12,509 applications for personal identification documents from residents in the interior of Sarawak, through the Special Task Force (PPK).

Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the figure was from a total of 13,224 applications collected by the task force since July 2023, while the remaining 715 applications are still being processed.

He noted that although Malaysia is a developed country, some residents still do not possess birth certificates or MyKad, which hinders access to education and healthcare.

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“Officers do not wait at the office. They go to the longhouses and seek out people without documents.

“If this happens, life becomes difficult. It is hard to attend school, and if someone falls ill, hospital expenses are high,” he said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to a question from Datuk Ali Biju (PN-Saratok) on the latest status of document issuance for stateless individuals in Sarawak’s interior, and whether the process had been simplified in view of the state’s challenging geography.

Saifuddin Nasution explained that the task force is fully placed under the Sarawak Premier’s Department, with support from the Home Ministry through the National Registration Department (JPN) under the Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (MEKAR) initiative.

He said that under existing regulations, births must be registered within 40 days in Sarawak and Sabah, and within 60 days in Peninsular Malaysia, but the state’s geography has prevented many residents in the interior from meeting this requirement.

In this regard, he emphasised that applications handled by the special task force are no longer constrained by the usual bureaucratic procedures.

“Under the standard bureaucracy, those without documents had to bring their children to the office, where officers would wait. Under the new procedure, we go directly to them,” he said.

Saifuddin Nasution said that since the special task force was setup, nine special engagement programmes have been conducted, forming part of a total of 1,117 initiatives on personal identification documentation.

He added that 236 programmes were carried out in 2023, 204 in 2024, and 404 in 2025, while seven programmes have already been completed within the second and third weeks of January this year alone.

According to him, in addition to geographical challenges, low awareness among communities regarding the registration of children’s births also contributes to the lack of personal identification documents.

He said the ministry through JPN, is also actively supporting documentation efforts for Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia.

“For instance, during a programme with the Orang Asli in Kuala Tahan, Pahang, we stayed in the area for several days, during which the JPN resolved more than 200 issues related to personal identification documents,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Ramli Mohd Nor suggested that KDN, JPN, and the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA) focus on the Negrito tribe living in the Malaysia-Thailand border areas.

-- BERNAMA