HULU SELANGOR: The opportunity to finally obtain a MyKid identity card for her 14-month-old son brought tears of joy and relief to Nur Hakikah Ismail.
This was because Nur Hakikah, 24, did not want her son, Ahmad Yusuf Alfarizai Sallehuddin, to go through the same hardships she had faced growing up without proper identification papers.
“I did not want what had happened to me to befall my son.
“I immediately applied for my son’s identity once I got mine done.
“We started the process on Monday and the card was ready for him the very next day.
“I am so very thankful,” a tearful Nur Hakikah said when met at the family home here yesterday.
She was also thankful for her husband’s efforts in helping her family obtain the necessary identity documents.
“It was as if he flew into my life like a superhero and saved me.”
It was recently reported in The Star that Nur Hakikah was among seven siblings from Rawang who received their MyKad from the National Registration Department (NRD).
The siblings, between 16 and 29, ended years of being in a limbo after finally obtaining their MyKad because their father had previously not registered their births.
Present to hand out her son’s identification documents was Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail who said that the lack proper identification papers could result in a “generational” problem for a family if it is not resolved promptly.
“When a marriage isn’t registered and a birth that came from it also goes unregistered, this becomes an issue.
“When this happens these innocent children are unable to enter schools and can face difficulties when seeking medical help,” he said.
He added that the hardship faced by Nur Hakikah and her siblings should be a lesson for all.
“No matter what the background, all marriages need to be registered as this is a requirement for a child to obtain the necessary identification documents,” he said.
He added that anyone with knowledge of a birth can help register it with the authorities.
“It need not only be the parents. Even a neighbour or relative can do so as long as there are relevant documents.”
Saifuddin Nasution said 9,528 late birth registrations were recorded last year.
He added that most unregistered births involved parents giving excuses of being unaware of the need to register the birth of their child or lacking the finances to do so.
The late registration of a birth would usually result in a fine.
In a related matter, Saifuddin Nasution said that the Menyemai Kasih Rakyat initiative has helped in the registrations of births in remote areas in Sarawak.
Under the initiative, NRD officers are deployed to villages and rural areas instead of waiting for parents to come forward to register.
