SIBU, Nov 12: The National Registration Department (NRD) will set up a mobile counter from Jan 15 to 17, 2021 at Zoobie Restaurant, opposite Bukit Aup Jubli Park.
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) Rajang Branch chairman, Bill Jugah revealed yesterday that this arrangement was made after he raised the issue involving 200 cases of people with various documentation problems.
“State NRD approached me recently after I have brought up over 200 cases to them. Most of these cases are in the central region which includes Sibu, Kanowit, Sarikei, and Pakan while there are also those from Ba’Kelalan and Lubok Antu,” he said.
The dining hall of the restaurant where the mobile unit will be set up is big enough to accommodate the applicants where all standard operating procedure (SOP) will be observed.
Bill disclosed he had last week met the State NRD director and the department’s section head in Sibu.
As a result of the meeting, the NRD had proposed to carry out a mobile counter on those three days from 8am to 5pm daily.
“The first day of the counter on Jan 15 is for those from Ba’Kelalan follow by those from the other places. Those from Sibu constitute 10 per cent of the 200 cases,” he said.
He explained that the counter is for people with either green or red identity cards to apply for MyKad. Stateless children could also forward their case during the event.
“From what I have seen, these stateless children who are born in the state, have a valid reason to challenge their status. Presently most cannot meet the requirement to apply for an identity card as either their parent has passed away or they the parents themselves do not have the identification documents,” he added.
In this aspect, he called on the government to come out with a proper guideline on the requirements needed for them to qualify for citizenship.
Bill said as there are those who could not read or write, his video on the matter uploaded on his Facebook account had recorded more than 26,000 viewers.
“We will extend this mobile counter to other places depending on the need. The second one might be in Tatau,” he said. — DayakDaily
