KUALA TERENGGANU: The National Registration Department (NRD) will expand its Mobile Bus service to enable MyKad will be issued, some 45 minutes after it was applied for, from next year, onwards.
Its Director-General, Datuk Mohammad Razin Abdullah, said that prior to this, Mykad collection after applications is made at a nearest branch will take between five and seven months to be issued.
He said the NRD now has four mobile bus units, in the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak which are equipped to process Mykad and other documents immediately.
"The NRD Mobile Bus service has received wide reception and various programmes had been scheduled weekly next year.
"Apart from being placed at carnival’s, the bus will also travel to locations in the interior to meet the needs of its customers," he said in a press conference, here.
Also present was State NRD director Mohamad Nasir Kareem.
Elaborating further, Razin said, the NRD Mobile Bus service was among the approach taken by the department to further enhance its services to the target group.
"In addition to the NRD Mobile Bus service, we are also conducting outreach programs and the ‘Mobil Ehsan’ programmes to facilitate personal document issuance to people living in remote areas, isolated islands and people with disabilities.
"The process of producing a Mykad has also been further accelerated by half an hour through state-of-the-art printing machines involving 55 NRD branches nationwide," he said.
In a related development, Razin said the NRD was also willing to replace personal documents such as Mykad and birth certificates free of charge to flood victims.
Meanwhile, Razin said many a parent nationwide were slow and under the assumption that it is an easy process to register their children with the department and has created unnecessary problems.
He said the issue of delaying the birth registration of a baby should not happen as the government has provided various facilities.
Razin said the government has made amendments to the National Registration Act 1959 which allows parents and guardians to register late-births within 60 days compared to just 45 days before.
“Many only seek to register the birth of their children when they are faced problems in registering their children at schools,” he said.