Malaysia recorded 9,528 late birth registrations in 2024, largely due to unregistered marriages, impacting children’s access to education and healthcare.
HULU SELANGOR: A total of 9,528 cases of late birth registration were recorded nationwide last year.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic) said this was largely due to unregistered marriages and a lack of awareness about the legal requirement to register births.
He said the failure to register marriages has serious implications for children when their births go unregistered.
This limits their access to education, healthcare and other basic services.
“These children are innocent, yet they grow up outside the mainstream system,” he said after handing over a birth certificate to a one-year-and-four-month-old baby.
He said some only obtain identity documents after decades with the help of NGOs, lawyers and authorities.
The baby’s mother, Nur Hakikah Ismail, 24, is among seven siblings who recently received their birth certificates and identity cards.
Their late registrations stemmed from their parents’ unregistered marriage, which had affected the issuance of identity documents for the children.
The seven siblings, aged between 17 and 30, received approval for their late birth registration applications on Dec 8.
Approval for late registration of identity cards followed on Dec 23.
Saifuddin said the responsibility to register a birth does not rest solely with parents.
It also falls to anyone aware of the birth, including family members and neighbours.
In Peninsular Malaysia, births must be registered within 60 days.
In Sabah and Sarawak, registration must be done within 40 days.
A late registration process is available for cases that exceed these periods.
He added that through corrective measures by the National Registration Department (NRD), affected children were eventually registered as legitimate.
This allows them to obtain identity documents such as MyKad and lead more structured lives.
The government is adopting a grassroots approach through the Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (MEKAR) initiative in Sabah and Sarawak.
The programme targets interior areas, longhouses and hard-to-reach settlements to identify individuals without identification documents.
“Through MEKAR, NRD officers are deployed directly to villages and rural communities instead of waiting for people to come to the office,” he said.
He stressed the issue must be addressed urgently due to its profound impact on children’s futures.
