Mother of seven gets her MyKad after 40-year wait

 

R Alliamah, 64, displaying her MyKad which she received from the director-general of registration, Ruslin Jusoh, in Penang today. (Bernama pic)

GEORGE TOWN: After waiting more than 40 years for an identity card, a senior citizen could heave a sigh of relief today because she was finally granted a MyKad.

It was all the more gratifying for R. Alliamah, 64, as she received her Mykad personally from the director-general of national registrations, Ruslin Jusoh, at a ceremony at the Penang registration department.

Alliamah, from Liberty Wood Estate, Kulim, in Kedah, said she has lived without an identity document or Mykad because her family home was razed along with all personal documents after her birth.

She said she was the only one among her seven siblings who did not possess an identity document while the rest had birth certificates and also MyKad.

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“When I was a child, there was a fire at home which destroyed all the important documents needed to register my birth at that time, making it difficult for me since I was a child.

“At the age of 64, I have finally obtained a Mykad today. Thank you to all the parties involved, especially the NRD for helping me. I am finally a Malaysian and can register to vote in the general election,” she said here today.

Her son Mohd Faizal Abdullah, 45, said his late father S. Sahar Segaran who died at age 39, had exhausted all avenues to secure a valid Mykad for Alliamah mother who works as a cook.

He said his family had also previously compiled the relevant documents for the Mykad application but all were lost in a flood when they were living in Kedah at the time.

“We seven siblings also met up with various parties including representatives of political parties, non-governmental organisations and so on but still failed to get a Mykad because we did not find the right channel (to apply for it). We were also cheated by agents who claimed to be able to get a MyKad for my mother,” he recalled.

He said that after elaborate efforts were made, he and his mother in December last year met with NRD officials to again apply for a MyKad and after more than six months, his mother finally succeeded in obtaining it, culminating in one of the happiest moments of their lives.

“My mother has gone through thick and thin without a MyKad despite being born a Malaysian citizen. She also had a hard time raising us without it. We would like to thank the NRD staff who made it a breeze for us, and helped my mother get the MyKad,” he added.

Ruslin said the registration department in Penang had conducted a DNA test to prove the family ties between Alliamah and her siblings. The registration of Alliamah’s birth was approved by a late registration panel on March 23 after carrying out interviews, birth record searches, DNA tests, and inspecting supporting documents from Alliamah’s siblings.

He said her late-registration birth certificate, denoting Malaysian citizenship, was issued and handed to her on March 24. She applied for a Mykad on March 31. - FMT