TAIPING: The National
Registration Department (NRD) strictly adheres to the regulations and
procedures set by the Federal Constitution in awarding citizenship to
foreigners.
Its Director-General, Datuk
Jariah Mohd Said said the deparment was also responsible for determining
citizenship status and issuing identification document in the form of a
high-tech identification card or Smart Card for the country’s security and
development needs.
“Foreign female applicants
need to abide by Article 15 (1) of the Federal Constitution. They need to have
an entry permit to obtain a red identification card for eligibility as a
permanent resident for two years, before they are given citizenship.
“Male applicants, according
to Article 19 (1) of the Federal Constitution, need to have an entry permit to
apply for a red identification card and must live in Malaysia not less that 12
years to qualify for citizenship,” she told reporters after attending a visit
programme to Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Simpang, here.
She said this when asked
about allegations by the opposition that the NRD was too quick in awarding
citizenship to immigrants.
“The NRD has a record of each
individual’s indentification to avoid the misuse of lost or stolen
identification cards.
“Our system will firstly
examine the photo and fingerprint on the identification card. This is God’s
power because the photo and fingerprint will not be the same,” she added.
Meanwhile, she urged
eligible applicants who have not applied for an identification card to do so as
there were now 618,410 such cases.
“Selangor has the highest
number of people who have not applied for identification cards with 61,186, while
in Perak there are 41,105 such people,” she said.
To overcome this problem,
Jariah said the department continuously lined up programmes for schools to meet
with students and their parents, as well as station a mobile unit (bus) to make
it easier for the public to make an identification card.
Jariah said a total of
58,183 old identification cards and 465,985 new identification cards had not
been claimed by their owners.
“In Perak, there are 42,089
unclaimed identification cards while Selangor has the highest number at 69,848.
“We urge applicants who have
not picked up their identification card to do. Usually, the NRD issues a letter
to the applicant to inform of this, or the applicant can visit the NRD website
for information,” she said. — Bernama
She added that the law
allowed the NRD to destroy uncollected identification cards 18 months from the
date they were ready. (Bernama)
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