KULIM: The Home Ministry continues to handle between 13,000 and 14,000 cases of unregistered children each year, an issue that must be resolved to prevent affected children from facing difficulties in the future, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said last year, the ministry resolved nearly 13,000 cases involving children who were already in the mainstream school system but did not have identification documents.
"Through cooperation between the Home Ministry and the Ministry of Education, all the cases were resolved within six months," he told reporters after attending a values inculcation programme at his community service centre in Lunas here on Friday (May 15).
Saifuddin said the ministry, particularly the National Registration Department (JPN), is working to resolve late birth registration cases arising from various factors.
He said that, apart from waiting for parents or guardians to bring their children to JPN offices, the department also conducts outreach programmes to identify such cases.
"I believe that through this approach, we can resolve the problem of children without identification documents immediately. If left unaddressed, it will lead to other problems.
"Their schooling, hospital expenses and many other matters will become more difficult if the issue is not addressed early, especially now that many government welfare initiatives require the use of MyKad," he said.
He added that the ministry is taking immediate steps to resolve the issue in accordance with all relevant laws and regulations.- Bernama
