NRD to improve Mekar Diaspora programme to better serve Malaysians living abroad

TUMPAT: The National Registration Department’s (NRD) Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (Mekar) Diaspora programme will be improved and expanded to several countries worldwide this year, to better serve Malaysians living abroad.

Its director-general Badrul Hisham Alias said the NRD has rolled out the Mekar Diaspora programme in Saudi Arabia, to assist Malaysians in obtaining identification documents.

"The NRD has implemented the Mekar Diaspora programme in line with the Madani Government’s desire to ensure that all citizens receive their identification documents.

"Under this initiative, the NRD has processed 240 applications for Malaysians residing in Saudi Arabia,” he told Bernama after attending the Kembara Merdeka Mekar Ihsan programme in Kampung Teluk Renjuna on Friday (Aug 30).

During the programme, Badrul Hisham, together with his deputy director-general Sarinah Apisah, and Faizah Jaarudin, and NRD Kelantan Director Asrehan Ab Razak, handed over replacement identification cards to two individuals.

The individuals receiving the cards were Tengku Norfazliana Tengku Razlan, 21, who suffers from cerebral palsy, and Zainal Ahbiddin Rahman, 67, a former media practitioner who has been bedridden for the past eight years due to a stroke.

Badrul Hisham explained that the Mekar Diaspora programme is a government initiative aimed at solving the issues faced by Malaysians overseas, particularly the difficulty of returning to the country to apply for identification documents from NRD.

"The effort also facilitates the renewal of International Malaysian Passports at Immigration Department offices abroad and addresses other needs related to identification documents issued by the NRD,” he said.

Badrul Hisham said that this year, the NRD plans to extend the Mekar Diaspora programme to the United States, with the initiative expected to take place in September.

"The NRD will continue to assist Malaysians abroad, and next year will expand the Mekar programme to New Zealand, Australia, and several other countries,” he added. - Bernama