KUCHING: Citizens who were not in the country when they were 12 to 16 years old must register themselves within 30 days from the date of arrival in Malaysia to obtain their identity card.
The National Registration Department (NRD) in Sarawak explained that for cases where the subject is 16 years old and above and has obtained citizenship approval, he must register himself to obtain his identity card within 30 days through the Orang Baru Tiba (OBT) application process.
“This period starts from the date the citizenship certificate is given to the applicant. Following this, applications under the OBT category will be processed and decided by the Identity Card Division (BKP), Headquarters, NRD Putrajaya within the stipulated period.
“However, if the subject is unable to submit his identity card application within 30 days through the OBT application process, he must submit the application for Late Registration of Identity Card (DLKP) as stated under the National Registration Act 1959 (Act 78) and Regulations-National Registration Regulations 1990.
“The headquarters or state panel will make a decision on all the complete DLKP applications received within the stipulated period,” it said in its statement today.
NRD Sarawak also informed that the OBT and DLKP applications will take longer if the applicant submitted incomplete documents or does not provide feedback on queries submitted by the panel.
Moreover, it added, although the citizenship is approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), the process of registering applicants and issuing identity cards is still subject to the Regulations stated above.
“Therefore, applicants should always give cooperation to the department so that the relevant documents can be issued in accordance with the prescribed procedures and periods.
“It is the responsibility of our department to perform our duties in accordance with the functions and roles set by the law and the Constitution.
“For this, we will always ensure that the tasks performed always comply with the regulations set,” it said.
On June 20, Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) Political Education Bureau director Irene Chang urged NRD to explain and justify its basis for the delay in issuing MyKads to applicants who have been successfully granted citizenship.
She stated that DAP helped two cases to apply and successfully obtained citizenship from the KDN but had yet to be issued their MyKads by NRD.
“Previously, successful applicants would only have to wait for two or three months for the national identity card to be processed and to be issued to them by NRD. However, for these two cases, the applicants have been waiting until today and their identity card is still not issued to them yet,” she said.
