GUA MUSANG: The lack of accurate figures on individuals without identification documents poses a challenge for the National Registration Department (JPN) in identifying Orang Asli and indigenous communities that remain outside the national registration system.
JPN director-general Datuk Badrul Hisham Alias said the department could only identify these individuals when they came forward to seek its services, making it difficult to determine the actual number of people who still lacked identity cards or birth certificates.
He said the issue involved not only the Orang Asli community in Peninsular Malaysia but also indigenous communities in Sabah and Sarawak, where some individuals were believed to remain without identification documents.
“We do not know exactly how many are unregistered, nor do we know how many will attend; however, Alhamdulillah, we have received applications from more than 30 individuals aged 12,” he said at a press conference after the Registration Literacy Programme, held in conjunction with the state-level celebrations of the 78th National Registration Day, in Pos Balar.
He said JPN was committed to conducting outreach programmes to engage with communities in rural areas, including providing services for first-time identity card applications, identity card replacements, and matters relating to birth and death certificates.
Badrul Hisham said sustained efforts were important to ensure that rural communities had access to documentation services and to help address gaps in registration among these communities.
Meanwhile, more than 30 Orang Asli children aged 12 in Pos Balar applied for their identity cards for the first time through JPN’s outreach programme.
Badrul Hisham said the response to documentation services provided through JPN’s mobile van had been very encouraging, with local residents also taking the opportunity to obtain replacement identity cards and birth certificates.
He said the number of first-time MyKad applications from 12-year-old children was expected to increase, as many residents were still queuing to access JPN services during the programme.
“For today, we have received more than 30 who are getting their ICs for the first time (12 years old). And if we look at the mobile van, there were still many people queuing,” he said.
He said the Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (Mekar) programme was part of JPN’s commitment to reaching out to rural communities and facilitating their access to identity documents.
In addition to first-time MyKad applications, JPN also provided services for identity card replacements and matters relating to birth and death certificates, he said.
The initiative was important to ensure that rural communities had easier access to the registration and documentation services provided by the government.