December 24, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — The Home Ministry has blamed “communication problems” caused by untrained National Registration Department (NRD) staff for Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya’s failure to obtain an identity card for his 12-year-old daughter.
Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said today staff manning the counter at NRD Kuching had failed to properly explain to Juanda that certain personal records have to be updated before an identity card can be issued to children in cases where their mother is a foreign national.
He said in a statement that this was in line with new requirements governing the issuance of identity cards to 12-year-olds with “citizenship-related problems”, which came into force on June 11, 2009.
“The status of children from a marriage between a Malaysian man and a foreign national must be updated before an identity card can be issued for the first time, and either the mother or father must present a copy of their marriage certificate for confirmation ...
“In Dr Juanda’s case, his wife is an Indonesian national and the couple have six children born in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2010. According to the NRD, all their birth records were updated before the procedure was enforced, except for (Juanda’s youngest daughter) Sumaiyah,” he said.
Mahmood said Sumaiyah’s identity card was now ready for collection and stressed that the Home Ministry would ensure only qualified NRD staff deal with the public in the future.
Juanda yesterday lashed out at the civil service and Putrajaya after the NRD informed him that his daughter was not a Malaysian citizen.
The incident occurred when Juanda, who is Melanau, tried to apply for an identity card for his 12-year-old daughter at the NRD office in Kuching.
“My child is stateless! What kind of system is this? Are we in Africa or chaotic Zimbabwe?” he said in a statement.
“At a time when many foreigners are said to have been given citizenship, my daughter who is a Melanau, a Sarawak Bumiputera whose right to citizenship is clearly preserved in the Constitution, is suddenly said not to be a Malaysian national.”
Juanda said that while his wife was an Indonesian national, there was no reason why his young daughter should be victimised, especially since the NRD’s own records identified the latter as a Melanau.
He pointed out his daughter had visited relatives in Jakarta earlier this month on her Malaysian passport, and questioned how she could possibly be tagged in the NRD system as a non-citizen in light of her recent travels abroad.
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Mufti’s daughter to get MyKad
PETALING JAYA: Sumaiyah Syahidah, the daughter of Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya, can now collect her MyKad at the Sarawak National Registration Department (NRD) office.
Two days ago, Dr Juanda issued a press statement expressing shock that the Kuching NRD office had told him his 12-year-old second child was not recognised in their records as a citizen, and had asked him to show his marriage certificate.
Dr Juanda, who is a Melanau and has an Indonesian wife, said his daughter's MyKad application should have been approved since the Melanau are clearly stated in the Federal Constitution as bumiputra.
He said the NRD officers did not inform him that their records stated that his daughter, who has a Malaysian passport, is not a Malaysian citizen when he applied for her MyKad last week.
In a statement yesterday, Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said the issue came about due to a misunderstanding.
He said the NRD officers did not clarify fully to Dr Juanda on the need to update his personal records on procedures for first-time MyKad applications of children of Malaysian men with foreign spouses.
This directive, issued for children of a Malaysian citizen with a non-Malaysian spouse, includes the need to submit the parents' marriage certificate.
Mahmood said that based on this directive, which had been in force since June 11, 2009, a record update had to be done to process the child's MyKad application.
As such, a copy of the parents' marriage certificate is needed for confirmation before the MyKad is issued.
“In Dr Juanda's case, checks on NRD's records reveal the couple have six children, and all their particulars, with the exception of Sumaiyah's, had been updated before the June 11, 2009 directive,” he said.
Sumaiyah's particulars, he said, were updated on June 12 the same year, a day after the directive was enforced.
Mahmood said the ministry would re-evaluate its staff placement to ensure only those who could relay information accurately would deal with queries at NRD customer service counters. - Star
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