JPN, NGO need to immediately register unregistered children: Ahmad Zahid

KEPALA BATAS: The National Registration Department (JPN) and non-governmental organisations (NGO) need to work together to speed up the process of registering children who have yet to be registered.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said children should not become the victims of parents who did not register their children due to problems they were facing.
"Most of the marriages (of the parents concerned) were legal but were registered abroad and the registrations were not endorsed again within the country because they feared that there were possibilities other parties who objected to the wedding might come to know about them. Then, the children become the victims.
"Do not blame the JPN. The children are clean (innocent), the parents are the ones who cause the problems. The JPN will be fair to the children who are victimised so that they can receive education in schools, get valid documents," he said at the gathering of the people with the Deputy Prime Minister, here today.
Ahmad Zahid said he had empowered State Education Department Directors to cooperate with all parties concerned in efforts to speed up the registration process for these children.
He said that according to the record, there were about 2,400 children who did not have any self-identification document.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid who is also the Home Minister said the transformation carried out by the JPN in issuing the identity card was the best and received world recognition.
He said the transformation had demonstrated a very encouraging achievement when the department could produce the identity card within a short time frame.
He said although various transformation and service improvements had been carried out each year, security features and personal information aspects were considered serious matters.
"The upgrading elements are carried out every year or within a specified period. They are carried out to avoid identity card falsification or fraud. We do not compromise in terms of the quality and security features of the identity card.
"Congratulations to the JPN because the application process for the identity card had previously taken several months, but now the time had been reduced to one month, and later shortened further to five days. Out of the total of 231 JPN offices throughout the country, 56 offices have their own identity card printing machine and this has led to the identity card being produced within 45 minutes," he said.
At the event, Ahmad Zahid launched the 'Mobile Ehsan Sub Hub' which can complete the production of the identity card within 45 minutes and handed over MyKid, MyKad and birth certificates to 50 individuals. — Bernama