Application for citizenship and Identity Card

suppadmin | October 7, 2015

SUPP Public Complaints Bureau was recently approached by a couple from Padawan for assistance to apply for citizenship and Identity Card for their four year old child. The father of the boy is from Malaysia while the mother is from Indonesia. Their problem arose because at the time of birth of the child, their marriage was not registered and the couple does not know the application process for citizenship.

The child is sick with congenital heart disease and urgently requires open heart surgery but Pusat Jantung, Hospital Umum Sarawak is unable to refer the child to Institute Jantung Negara as the child is not a citizen of Malaysia.

The couple was brought to the National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara) to assist them to obtain citizenship for their child. SUPP Public Complaints Bureau has appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs to speed up the sick child’s application process.

SUPP Public Complaints Bureau would like to advice couples who intend to start a family that they should always register their marriage first. This advice is particularly relevant and important in situations where the spouse is from another country. The registration of marriage first before having a child will prevent the problem of a child not having citizenship after his or her birth to the couple.

SUPP Public Complaints Bureau would like to stress here that they are not the approving authority and only assists the public in their application and assists with making sure that their applications are in order.

[Photo shows SPCB Chief, Wilfred Yap assisting the couple from Padawan to apply for citizenship of their four year old child at the Kuching National Registration Department]