LONG PASIA WASN'T MOBILE REGISTRATION

KOTA KINABALU: The National Registration Department (NRD) on Tuesday said each birth certificate for late registration that it issued must have endorsement from a First Class Magistrate, as required under Section 22(3) of the Birth and Death Registration Ordinance 1951 (Sabah Cap.123), before it can be used as a valid document.

It also clarified that the exercise carried out in Long Pasia on June 22-26 was a mobile court programme and not a mobile registration programme.

It said during mobile court programme, the department only made validation of late birth certificate for the purpose of endorsement by the mobile court and not to accept any application at that time, instead giving explanation to the villagers if they require any advice relating to application for late birth certificate and identity card.

It was in response to a DAP statement on June 28 which questioned the department's refusal to authenticate the late births in the Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) area.

DAP had claimed that the NRD was not as fussy when it issued late birth cert documents to children of suspected illegals in the East Coast.

For the purpose of document registration, the department said it has its own programme to go out and do registration through its mobile court, which also involves the police, Immigration Department, community leaders or elected representative, Jheains, Public Complaints Bureau as well as court representatives to assist in the mobile registration process.

It said before this programme is implemented the family information forms would be distributed first to the applicants and this would be returned back through community leader or elected representative for the department to check on it before going for field interview.

It said normally this programme would take three to five days or more depending on the number of applications received, adding that the department has also already carried out mobile registration exercise in Long Pasia on Nov 24, 2009, where it received 42 applications for late birth certificates and three late registration for identity cards. - Sabahkini