PUTRAJAYA, Oct 16 — About 1.4 million Malaysians aged over 12 years and having birth certificates still do not have identity cards, said Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

"They do not have a MyKad even though they are over 12 years old and are supposed to have one. I urge anyone (Malaysian citizen) who does not have an identity card to get it as soon as possible because it is an important document,” he said.

Based on the National Registration Department (NRD)’s statistics, of the 1.4 million, 45.588 people are 13-17 years old, 970,377 (18-80 years old), 110,537 (81-90 years old) and 302,694 (91 years and above).

"There are various factors why they don’t possess MyKads, among them are living in the interior, forgetting and having ignorant parents,” he told reporters after the National Registration Day celebration at the NRD here today.

According to Muhyiddin, there are currently 22 million MyKad holders.

National Registration Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh in his speech at the event said NRD would introduce online applications for several services. next year.

They include applications for birth certificates, retrieval of birth certificates, 12-year-old MyKad applications, retrieval of MyKads, and marriage registrations for non-Muslims, he said.

"For these applications, applicants need only be present to submit proof of the original documents before collecting the documents they had applied for, he said.

Starting this year, he said the NRD had implemented a system for the automatic registration of deaths via an online integration programme with the police whereby every death reported in police stations in Peninsular Malaysia would be automatically recorded in the NRD system.

"MyKad replacement applications can now also be done online without having to be present at the NRD office. Applicants only need to go to the NRD office to collect the MyKad,” he said.

Muhyiddin in his speech earlier said the Election Commission (EC) and the NRD have set up a special task force to ensure the automatic implementation of voter registration scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2021, went smoothly.

He urged the EC and NRD hold massive campaigns, especially with regard to updating or changing addresses of citizens who have changed their place of residence.

"This will enable those who are 18 years old and eligible to vote to be automatically enrolled in the voting district based on the latest address in the NRD database," he said. — Bernama