KUALA LUMPUR – The National Registration Department (NRD) is currently printing 160,000 delayed MyKid (children’s identity) cards and will issue them to applicants gradually, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah told the Dewan Negara today.
In the meantime, parents or guardians can use a child’s birth certificate temporarily for any dealings with government or private entities that require such identification.
Shamsul Anuar said NRD had already resolved delayed MyKid cards for 2021 and 2022, and are going to print another 15,000.
“We have approximately 15,000 MyKid cards that are yet to be printed and are expected to be ready by the end of this month,” Bernama reported him as saying.
“For 2023, the procurement of MyKid supplies is in progress, with a total of three million cards that we will provide to meet the demand. This estimate is based on the annual birth rate ranging from 400,000 to 500,000.”
Shamsul Anuar also gave assurances that the shortage of MyKid cards will not recur as the NRD is in the process of procuring three million more cards to meet demand.
This follows a six-month delay in the issuance of MyKid cards, announced by the NRD in January, due to a global microchip shortage. The shortfall in microchip production was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shamsul Anuar said parents or guardians need not worry about using the child’s birth certificate as identification, as it is a valid government-issued identification document.
“Government agencies and private entities have been informed to prioritise the use of the birth certificate while waiting for MyKid,” he said today during the Dewan Negara’s question and answer session.
Shamsual Anuar was replying to a question from Senator Datuk Aziz Ariffin, who had wanted to know about the delay in the issuance of MyKid cards for newborns, following the global microchip shortage. – December 13, 2023