KAJANG, Oct 26 — A single mother of five children can finally breathe a sigh of relief after four of them, who did not have identification documents previously, obtained their respective birth certificates and MyKid today.

Hasmida Hamid received the documents for her four children, aged from one year to six years old, from Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail at the Kajang Hospital here.

The case caught the attention of the National Registration Department (NRD) after Hasmida’s plight about trying to obtain identity documents for her four children, from her second marriage, went viral on social media recently.

Commenting on the case, Saifuddin said it occurred following Hasmida and her partner’s failure to register their marriage, which took place abroad, with the religious authorities upon their return to the country.

"The second marriage resulted in the birth of four children, and each child was not registered under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957.”

"Based on investigations, this case is categorised as late birth registration and we have issued birth certificates for all four children because their mother is a citizen,” he said.

The event, which was also attended by the NRD director-general Badrul Hisham Alias, is part of Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (Mekar), organised by the NRD, which was established as an outreach programme to address such cases.

At the event, Saifuddin also presented a personal contribution to the single mother to lighten her burden after her second marriage also ended in divorce.

According to Saifuddin, Hasmida who hails from Tumpat, Kelantan also has another child from her first marriage but that child has identification documents.

Saifuddin also urged the community to learn from this case and not delay the registration of births in order to avoid complicating their children’s lives in the future.

"I also want to thank the NRD for their prompt efforts in helping Hasmida,” he added.

In the meantime, Hasmida also expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the Home Affairs Ministry. especially the NRD, for their swift action in resolving her issue. The single mother has been forced to quit her job as a security guard to take care of one of her children who is ill. — Bernama