KOTA KINABALU: Foreigners issued with birth certificates in Sabah are not automatically granted Malaysian citizenship, State National Registration Department (NRD) director Ismail Ahmad said.
Ismail, in allaying the fears of Sabahans and state leaders on the issue, said: “There is no way foreigners can automatically obtain Malaysian citizenship.
“It is the state NRD’s duty to record all births in Sabah, irrespective of whether they are locals or foreigners. This is stipulated under the Sabah Birth and Death Registration Ordinance 1951 (Cap.123),” he told reporters yesterday.
“I would like to clear up the confusion with regard to the matter as many think that foreigners who are issued with birth certificates here will automatically be Malaysians. This perception is incorrect as the document is aimed at keeping a record of their numbers in Sabah.
“They cannot use the birth certificates to apply for MyKads or any Malaysian identification documents. It cannot be used to apply for permanent resident status too. They can however use it to apply for identification documents from their country of origin through the respective embassy or consul,” Ismail said.
The children of IMM13 holders can use the birth certificates to apply for IMM13 certificates from the Immigration Department, he disclosed.
Ismail added that since 2010, the state NRD had been issuing two types of birth certificates, green for locals and red for foreigners born in Sabah.
The idea to issue different coloured birth certificates was formulated by the NKRA Sabah Laboratory and is now applied by NRDs all over the country.
“Even then, we have a stringent process of application for the birth certificate, and foreigners must be able to give proof that their child is born in Sabah because we do not want their children who are not born in the state to be issued with the birth certificates,” he said.
Proof, he said, must be in the form of either the health card issued by a clinic, whether government or private, or in the case of a home delivery, they must provide NRD with the midwife’s statement.
The parent’s marriage must also be valid, he said.
Ismail added the red birth certificate applied only to those who were classified as ‘in land foreigner’, meaning those who had identification documents issued by the state government such as the IMM13, Pemegang Kad Penempatan (Kad Burung Burung), Sijil Banci, temporary resident and permanent resident.
“But some of these documented foreigners in Sabah do not take the trouble to register their child’s birth, thus the latter is termed as ‘’. These children are not as we know their parents’ country of origin; it is just that the parents neglected to register them with NRD.
“If they are registered with us, we will issue them the red birth certificate which they can use to apply for identification document from their country of origin,” he reiterated.
“NRD however will not issue the birth certificate to illegal immigrants, but will in turn, report them to the Immigration Department for further action,” he pointed out.
“Registering the births of ‘in land foreigners’ is also one way for NRD and the government to record and monitor their presence in Sabah,” he said, adding, “we want to know how many of them are in Sabah.
He also explained that in the case where an ‘in land foreigner’, like an IMM13 holder married a local and the marriage was properly registered, their children will be Malaysians.
“But if the marriage is not properly registered, the child’s nationality will follow the mother whether she is local or a foreigner,” he stressed.
Ismail also lamented that there were many locals, especially those in the rural areas, who had yet to register their children’s birth. One of the reasons for them not doing so was because they could ill afford to go to the nearest town to register the births.
“This is why the state NRD has its outreach program where we go to these rural villages to register them because they need the proper identification documents to be able to get an education as well as employment.
“To ensure that they are authentic Sabahans, we will interview them as well as the ketua kampung (village head). If we are satisfied with the evidence, we will issue them the birth certificate and MyKad.
“There were also cases where we had to send some of the applicants for DNA testing just to confirm their parentage,” he said.
Ismail advised Sabahans not to neglect registering their child’s birth because the process nowadays was very stringent and could take a long time.