Putrajaya: The National Registration Department (JPN) aims to resolve all 12,101 documentation issues involving mainstream school students nationwide as early as June this year. Its director-general, Badrul Hisham Alias, stated that the efforts through the MEKAR DIDIK initiative, an added value to the Program Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (MEKAR) JPN, have now been completed by about 35 percent since its launch last November.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, out of the total number of non-citizen students involved, Sabah recorded the highest target number of 6,997, followed by Selangor with 1,833, and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur with 496. “So far, after a few months since it started, all states have held meetings with the District Education Offices and the State Education Department. In Sabah, we have met with the education director and Insya-Allah, will receive the blessing to enter all schools in the near future,” Badrul Hisham said.
Badrul Hisham mentioned this to reporters after completing the house repair project for the asnaf through the MADANI JPN Madani Village Adoption programme in Kampung Padang Tanjung. He expressed optimism that by addressing the nearly 7,000 cases in Sabah, JPN would be able to resolve all documentation issues in mainstream schools by June or December this year.
MEKAR DIDIK, a collaboration with the Ministry of Education Malaysia, aims to address the issue of dropouts among eligible school students who do not have identification documents such as birth certificates, identity cards (MyKad), and citizenship certificates.
In a separate development, Badrul Hisham emphasized JPN’s commitment to eradicating the issue of fake MyKad usage, despite challenges due to syndicates. “We actually make arrests every day, but because it involves syndicates, the numbers are not large. Recently, we detained 16 Indonesian nationals for using fake MyKads that belonged to other people,” he explained.
Badrul Hisham highlighted the initiative to solve this problem by using a new generation MyKad, which is more sophisticated and will enable the community to identify whether it is fake or not. Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah previously reported that the new identity cards aim to have high security features, ensuring safety and enhancement in line with the latest security technology developments.
During the programme, Badrul Hisham also noted that JPN received approval from the Ministry of Finance for repair and construction works on drains, multipurpose halls, community halls, and playgrounds in the village with an allocation of RM1 million.