Growing parental awareness drives increase in MyKad application for 12-year-olds

MELAKA: Growing parental awareness in registering MyKad for 12-year-olds is seen as the biggest contributor in the increase of identification card applications, said Deputy Director-General of the National Registration Department (NRD) (Management) Faizah Jaarudin.

She said 366,526 first-time MyKad applications were submitted from January to September 2024, compared to 349,520 applications during the same period last year.

"In Melaka alone, 11,371 applications were received by the NRD for the same period this year, compared to 10,675 last year. This indicates that there has been an increase of awareness among parents who previously took the MyKad registration for their 12-year-olds lightly or have delayed registrations.

"Our young citizens aged 12 are now obtaining or applying for their MyKad," she told reporters after attending the closing and prize giving ceremony for the finals of Pidato JPN 2024 in conjunction with the 76th NRD Day celebration for the state of Melaka at the auditorium complex of the Home Affairs Ministry in Ayer Keroh, here, today.

She added that the improved counter operating hours at the NRD has also significantly contributed to the increase in MyKad applications, particularly at the Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) which are available in every state.

"Many parents are now taking the opportunity to submit their applications at the NRD counters at the UTC, which are also open on weekends until 5 pm, rather than waiting for the school holidays to submit.

"In addition, outreach activities such as mobile counters through the MEKAR programme have also greatly helped parents in applying for the MyKad, especially in rural or remote areas, where sometimes we can print the MyKad within 30 minutes of the application being submitted," she said.

Faizah also explained that the statistics for MyKad replacement applications due to loss have also shown an increasing trend, with 224,243 applications recorded this year from January to September, compared to 217,899 during the same period last year.

Commenting on the MyKid cards, she said that 30 percent of MyKid cards have yet to be claimed by parents.

"Thankfully, we have received the necessary supplies and applications have been running smoothly since operations resumed on July 29, but at the same time, 30 percent of MyKid cards remain uncollected.

"We urge parents to check the status of their MyKid applications through the NRD portal and claim them as soon as possible," she said.

--BERNAMA

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