Registering a birth outside of Malaysia as a citizen in 2026

So yes, I'm now a Tua Pek (大伯). This means that I have a niece. Who is born to at least one parent who is a Malaysian citizen. So she is eligible to be registered as a Malaysian citizen.

My personal (and professional) philosophy in life is to not close doors before they have been opened. Give the options. The possibilities. And if later the doors are closed by the person themselves, sure, but at least the option to open the door was there, and not taken away (by inaction) before it could be used.

So, how does one register their child born outside of Malaysia?

In theory it is simple:

1. Get foreign birth certificate
2. Bring it to a Malaysian mission abroad
3. Register and get Borang H
4. Get MyKid and all the rights and privileges of any other kid in Malaysia

Of course, it wouldn't be #government if everything was that straightforward.

Getting foreign birth certificate 

One thing about Australia is the process to register a birth, and getting a birth certificate, are two separate things. So what happens is the new parent has the documentation (hopefully from the hospital), submits it to the individual state BDM's, and they say thank you very much. 

To then get a birth certificate, the parent(s) need to fill up another form, with pretty much the same information, and pay the fee, to get one. At least in Australia we can fill it up online, instead of needing to turn up in person to a physical office (albeit that is also still an option to)

The official timeframe to get one is about 1-1.5 weeks. No instant issuance here. 

 

Registering with the Malaysian mission abroad

To register a birth with a Malaysian mission abroad, need a birth certificate to begin with. The, and only then, can a appointment be made, to register the birth. Not like can walk in and take a number and have a seat. Lead times depend on the particular Malaysian mission (how busy they are, how many people are in the line to register births etc), but in this case, there was a 3 month lead time before getting a appointment with the Malaysian Consulate to register her birth. 

The good news is that this provides plenty of time to receive the foreign birth certificate.

Documentation wise, this is what is required to register a child born outside of Malaysia:

• 2 copies of filled in Borang D
• Passport and Identity card (ID card) of parents
• Original Birth Certificate of Parents
• Malaysia Marriage Certificate
• Proof of right to stay in the foreign country (valid Visa Grant Notice & VEVO)
• Two child’s passport-sized photo, white background

They claim a processing time of Three (3) working days. Your mileage may vary: I've had people with experience from a rage of 2 weeks to pick up the Borang H, to 3+ months (albeit that was for a Late registration). Suffice to say, it is not a quick process to get it.

If anyone is interested, this is what Borang H looks like. Virtually identical to the Borang W of old

 

So eventually we got the Borang H, 5 months after birth. You'd think that this was the end of it right? If only....

 

Get MyKid and all the rights and privileges of any other kid in Malaysia

Ostensibly, the MyKid is not compulsory. It is an "optional" card that parents can choose, in lieu of carrying around the birth certificate/Borang H. In practice however most people apply for it, partially because it is free/doesn't cost anything, and also for the fact that it _does_ make life easier for parents when dealing with bureaucracy (government, schools, banks, etc) 

So 11.5 months after she was born, 5 months after we got the Borang H, said niece made her first visit to Malaysia. Selamat datang to Malaysia etc etc

So while making a Malaysian passport (something that Malaysia does better than the literal rest of the world, and in a good way) for the father, we decided to go over to NRD to apply for her MyKid

We get to the gatekeeper of the numbers™©️®️, and said that our intention was to apply for a MyKid. Asked for the birth certificate. So we produced Borang H. They told us to go to Level 4 to deal with this. Sure, we can walk up 4 flights of stairs, is nothing else to get out daily steps up.

We learnt that day that Tingkat Empat of Bangunan Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Haji Bujang is NRD's citizenship section. So we turn up, there wasn't a queue, so we were served reasonably quickly.

Explained our situation, provided the Borang H, and apparently she is "not in NRD's system" and "Only NRD Putrajaya HQ can enter her into the system". Even if we had the original Borang H in front of him.

Spoiler alert: it is because the Borang H needs to get from the overseas Malaysian mission to Wisma Putra, and then get from Wisma Putra to NRD Putrajaya. Apparently there are 3 copies of that Borang H: one kept by the Malaysian mission, one that the parent of the child receives, and one that gets sent back to NRD Putrajaya HQ visa diplomatic mailbag.

We stood our ground, making the case on why the original Borang H is "not enogh", but eventually realised that his hands were also tied. But we did learn that the parent(s) of the child doesn't have to be there to apply for the MyKid: "Atuk nenek pun boleh jadi permohon" (Grandpa and grandma also can be the applicant). Which would have been nice if had they put this information on, y'know, official website?

We were given a number to call to follow up on this (03-8880 7809), which to no one's surprise rang out in the hour were we waiting for a passport to be generated and picked up.

So over to SISPAA it was:

Translation:

I wish to apply for a MyKid for my daughter, who was born overseas. On February 16, 2026, I went to the Sarawak JPN office at the Federal Complex Simpang Tiga. I was advised that my daughter has not yet been registered in the JPN Putrajaya system. Therefore, I cannot apply for her MyKid.

My daughter was registered under Section 1(c), Part II, Second Schedule – Method 32 of the Federal Constitution on August 25, 2025. Almost 6 months have passed, but NRD Sarawak advises that my daughter's registration is still not in the NRD system, and is still waiting for NRD Putrajaya to enter the details via a diplomatic bag.

Although I have the original Form H, NRD Sarawak is still unable to find my daughter's registration record to create a MyKid.

My question is, how long does it typically take for the diplomatic bag to arrive at NRD Putrajaya from the consulate general in Melbourne, and what is the KPI for NRD Putrajaya to enter foreign birth information (Form H) into the NRD system? 

SISPAA (Sistem Pengurusan Aduan Awam) is the Integrated Complaint Management System by the Public Complains Bureau, which is under the Prime Minister's Office. Essentially it is a escalation pathway for grievances relating to federal ministries that are not resolved at the initial level.

Essentially it is a form of a check and balance between the different parts of the government. TBH, not the worse way to spend tax dollars.

So I opened a official complaint in NRD SISPAA about the inability to get a MyKid despite having the original Borang H.

(Also, can I say that I'm impressed that after all these years I can still write a surat rasmi (official letter) in BM) 

And we waited.

And waited.

If you look at their KPI (yes I'm the uncle that reads government circulars), they're supposed to give updates for "complex" cases within 15 days of raising the ticket. 

We gave the benefit of the fasting month, and 1 month later, followed up:

Translation:

Follow-up to SISPAA case JPN.053567 dated February 16, 2026

I am referring to the complaint I filed with NRD on February 16, 2026, regarding a foreign birth that is still not in the NRD Putrajaya system after 6 months. To date, a month has passed, yet I have not received any feedback or resolution regarding the matter.

Accordingly, I would like to follow up to get an update on the progress and the actions taken by NRD regarding this complaint. This matter is very important and I hope that this the issue can be resolved promptly and effectively.

I sincerely hope that NRD can provide a response in the near future. Your cooperation and attention are greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance.

 

And waited

And waited 

And gave them the benefit of the doubt to celebrate Hari Raya 

So in early April when they were supposed to be back at work, I escalated it to their parent agency, MOHA:

Translation:

I would like to bring to the attention of the Ministry of Home Affairs the issue of non-responsiveness by the National Registration Department (JPN) regarding case SISPAA JPN.053567, which I opened on February 16, 2026, concerning the fact that the Borang H for a foreign birth is still not in the JPN Putrajaya's system after almost 6 months.

According to General Circular No. 2 of 2022 from the Prime Minister's Department (https://www.pcb.gov.my/my/info-aduan/pekeliling-berkaitan-aduan) on the Enhancement of Public Complaint Management, inquiries opened in the SISPAA system must be clarified within five working days. Initial feedback is to be submitted to the complainant within 15 working days if the complaint is classified as complex.

Case JPN.053567 has been open for 25 working days, and although a follow-up was sent on March 17, 2026, no further feedback has been received from JPN.

Accordingly, we hereby request the assistance of the KDN, as the parent ministry of JPN, to obtain an update or clarification from JPN regarding this application, as I require the relevant documents for my daughter's EFS (Endowment Fund Sarawak; Ref: https://kpwk.sarawak.gov.my/web/subpage/webpage_view/100) application.

We are ready to provide any additional cooperation and further information if required. I look forward to KDN's assistance in this matter.

Thank you for your attention and action on this matter.

(Yes I know SISPAA case MOHA.026422 is still open as I write this. 2 months and 8 days later. And counting)

 

And waited

And waited 

And waited

Until in late April, we got this:

Translation:

Sir,

I am directed to refer to the above matter.

2. Based on this Department's record review, please be advised that the overseas birth registration form for [PII], submitted at the Malaysian Embassy in [Australian City], Australia, was updated by this Department on April 20, 2026.

3. For your information, applications submitted at the Malaysian Embassy overseas are received manually, and the application documents will be sent to the National Registration Department (JPN) via diplomatic pouch according to the schedule set for each Embassy. The documents are forwarded through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (KLN) before arriving at this Department for further processing.

4.      Each application for foreign birth registration received from the Malaysian Embassy Office overseas will be processed within six (6) months from the date the complete application is received by this Department. This period also does not include cases that need to be referred back if there are queries or the application is incomplete. However, your application has been completed within the stipulated period.

5. Accordingly, you may visit the nearest JPN office to follow up on your child's MyKID application. For further information, please contact the Citizenship Transaction Review (SUWA) hotline at 03-8880 8171 or visit the official JPN website at https://www.jpn.gov.my/my/perkhidmatan/warganegara for more details regarding citizenship applications.

 

So to recap:

• 16 Feb 2026: attempt to apply for MyKid, failed, open SISPAA ticket
• 19 Feb 2026: Fasting month begins in Malaysia
• 17 Mar 2026: send unanswered follow up message
• 21 Mar 2026: Hari Raya
• 06 Apr 2026: Escalate to MOHA
• 21 Apr 2026: Niece officially in NRD system 

13 months after she was born

But sure EFS expects parents to apply within 1 year of birth, when NRD's own KPI's gives them so much time, that it takes more than one year to actually register the birth on the Malaysian side. 

 

But wait, there's more!

Because Malaysia hasn't discovered how to properly make (government) websites, there was still the question, on _what_ documentation is required, for the grandparents to apply for their grand-daughter's MyKid. 

Hence, Talikhidmat case 20260421-0206:

Translation:

I intend to apply for a MyKid for my daughter, who was born outside the state of Sarawak and the country of Malaysia. After 13 months, I have been informed that overseas birth registration form number [PII] has been updated in the NRD's records on April 20, 2026.

I was informed by an officer from the citizenship section on the 3rd floor of the Sarawak State Registrar's Office, Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Haji Bujang Building at Simpang Tiga, Kuching, that the MyKid application can be submitted by the grandfather (i.e., my father).

I would like to get confirmation on the documents required for making a MyKid application when it is initiated by the grandfather.

I also request guidance on the steps to be followed, as well as the estimated processing time for the application.

Your cooperation and response from the National Registration Department, Sarawak, would be greatly appreciated. 

 To be fair to NRD (Sarawak), they responded within 3 days:

Translation:

For your information, applications can be submitted at any nearby NRD branch office by bringing the following supporting documents:
• Child's Documents:
i. Form H (Overseas Malaysian Birth Certificate) (original and copy)
ii. Foreign birth certificate (original and copy)
iii. Child's passport (if available).

• Parent's Documents:
I. Copy of the mother's and father's Identification Cards (MyKad).
II. Copy of the parents' Birth Certificates.

• Grandparent's Documents:
I. Grandparent's Identification Card (MyKad) (original and copy)

Please also note that the processing time for MyKid depends on the availability of MyKid card stock at the respective branch.

For any further inquiries, please contact the Citizenship Division, JPN Kuching at 082-230621.

 

Most interesting was the fact that while they needed the original's of Borang H and the overseas birth certificate of the child, copies of the parents MyKad and birth certificate and identity document was acceptable. 

Anyway, grandpa did manage to find some time, and yes, finally my niece has proof that she is a Malaysian citizen:

 

I also learnt that the reverse of a MyKid has the mother's details on it. Because if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, Malaysian men don't take care of kids. 

Honestly, after going through all this, I can understand why some Malaysians who give birth outside of Malaysia don't bother registering their children to be Malaysian citizens. Its only crazy people like me who would bother for all this. And TBH, sometimes I do ask myself, why do I bother to do all this, when for a lot of people in Malaysia they would want another citizenship other than being a Malaysian.

And while government websites can be quite bad around the world, in Malaysia information needs to be gatekept, because "a little information is a dangerous thing", so we end up trying to find information from blog posts (like this), posts and comments on social media. And they wonder why people act like this is the first time a Malaysian has given birth outside of Malaysia.

But I tell myself, this is to keep the doors open 

 

Next up: getting Sarawakian resident ("K") status 

3 years of 73% of Malaysian passport holders require additional processing for Australia ETA

It has almost become a (depressing) annual ritual: assisting with extended family members and friends on getting a Australian ETA to visit Australia. Honestly, for some of them, if they didn't have relatives in Australia, they wouldn't bother doing this. Most people would just find it too hard, and give up.

It has been a year since I got the last batch of stats. So on 15 July 2025 I put in an updated data request, seeking the number of visa subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority) applications, and the number of those which were flagged for further processing and such communicated to the application, by the list of countries eligible for visa subclass 601, between the dates of 1 Jan 2024 to 30 June 2025.

Was billed for the data request (AUD30) on 16 July, paid on 17 July, and acknowledged on 18 July 2025. Then silence. Technically their KPI is to have data requests fulfilled within 30 days. 

Received the data on 22 August 2025. A wait of 5 weeks, or more accurately 1 month 4 days, or more specifically 35 days. 25 weekdays if you're counting that way.

This is what was released to me:

The annoying thing is when they release the data, the release it in a non machine readable PDF. I'm pretty sure this is deliberate. Sure, nothing that can't be made machine readable with good old OCR and running everything through AI these days, but this is a bad sign for accountability.

This time I got 3 columns:

• Number of ETA applicants
• "Computer Assisted Grant"
• "Manual Grant Non-Grant"

As usual, Malaysia stands out like a sore thumb. For the period of 1 Jan 2024 to 30 June 2025 there were 183,365 applications by Malaysian passport holders for an Australian ETA. The data seems to suggest that only 49,439 of them was approved 'automatically'.

Basic maths (ie. 183,365 / 49,439) would indicate a automatic approval rate of 26.9621% for Malaysian passport holders. In other words, 73.0379% of Malaysian passport holders applying for a Australian ETA will be pulled for additional processing. 

At least it is consistent with the last time I got the data: 73.69% of Malaysian passport holders applying for a Australian ETA were pulled for additional processing between 1 Dec 2022 to 31 Dec 2023.

 

It does get interesting once you take a closer look at the numbers:

• 183,365 applications
• 49,439 of them was approved 'automatically'

Basic math will tell you that 183,365 minus 49,439 equals 133,926.

But the "Manual Grant Non-Grant" column gives a number of 108,476.

108,476 is not 133,926.

And this is where I get into a weird world of a matter of interpretation. There are 2 ways of looking at this:

• 183,365 Malaysians applied, 133,926 were pulled for additional processing, 108,476
   were approved after additional processing, 25,450 rejected after manual processing
• 183,365 Malaysians applied, 133,926 were pulled for additional processing, 25,450
   were approved after additional processing, 108,476 rejected after manual processing
   
  

It could really go either way. I mean, look at Brunei passport holders:

• 3,379 applications
• 3,353 of them was approved 'automatically'
• That leaves a difference of 26 applicants
• And 19 were "Manual Grant Non-Grant"

Does this mean that out of that 26 pulled for additional processing, 7 of them were eventually given the ETA, or 19 of them were given the ETA?

 

 

What is clear is that the automatic grant rate for the ETA's are in the 99% range, until you come to Malaysia:

Honestly, after 3 years of data, this has become the "new normal" for Malaysian passport holders intending to visit Australia for tourism purposes. The plural of anecdote is not data, but in the last 12 months I've had to assist 6 of my relatives with the additional processing for a Australian ETA.

The message is clear from Australia: you're not welcome. In between hiking up visa fees, capping the number of international student enrollments, reducing the number of places in the permanent migration program, and high cost of living, this is not the time to be coming to Australia.

Its not North Korea, or pandemic times, where the borders were closed, but the sentiment is there.

Sarawakians: Read this before you have kids, part 2

 

There is being a Malaysian citizen

And there is being a resident of Sarawak (or Sabah) as a Malaysian citizen

They are not the same

12 years (!) ago I wrote Sarawakians: Read this before you have kids. Since then much has changed, but some things have not changed:

"Like many things about Malaysia, this is poorly documented and understood. No one seems to know what the rules and regulations are."

People have gotten married, had children of their own, and have discovered that their children born to Sarawakian parent(s) outside of Malaysia (and potentially Sarawak?) have their passport numbers starting with "A"

For those who don't know (and there are a lot of people who don't), Malaysian passport numbers start with either A, K, or H:

• MalayA
• SarawaK
• SabaH

As a 5th generation Sarawakian, all my (Malaysian) passports have started with "K". 

But as life goes on, I've discovered that some of my friends who have kids of their own, the kids Malaysian passport numbers start with "A".

My initial reaction was that it doesn't make sense, as the law literally says that Sarawakian "K" people who have kids will be considered Anak Sarawak (Sarawakians really).

And yet, I have people (Sarawakian friends) in my wider social circle who have had kids outside of Malaysia, and he kids Malaysian passport numbers start with "A".

Is this another case of elastic interpretation that get's applied by the Little Napoleons on the ground?

This sounds like another case of "y'know, asking the people, rather than making speculations"

 

The official channel to ask queries for federal government departments/ministries in Malaysia is SISPAA. Technically it is SiSPAA (Sistem Pengurusan Aduan Awam). And while like a lot of things in life, one's mileage may vary, but in my (limited) I find that it actually works quite well.

Unless you're not in Malaysia/coming from a Malaysian IP address, that is.

It doesn't like my filthy foreign IP address.

I can access https://imi.spab.gov.my/eApps/system/index.do, but at a super specific Application Layer control, it says that "me or your user group do not have right to access this page".

So I asked around, asking for someone to give me a hand (with a Malaysian IP address). Brian, I owe you one, and you have a standing order for food and drink on me. Submitted the query on 12 July 2025, and got a response on 15 July 2025:

Yes, they do respond. Especially if you write nicely and ask politely. 

The key point is the second paragraph. My translation:

The query dated 14 July 2025 is referred to and noted by the Immigration Department. For reference, in accordance with the directive from the Sarawak Attorney General (SAG), via reference AG/10/67/5 dated 09.06.20214 [sic], the advice provided is that the Immigration Department does not have the authority to directly grant the status of a child of East Malaysian origin to children born abroad as per Section 71(1)(b)(ii) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. Therefore, applicants born outside Malaysia are not automatically eligible to obtain a Malaysian Passport (PMA) with the prefix 'K'. This office only supports the issuance of PMA for applicants with the prefix 'A' only. Applicants are advised to apply for a Certificate of Status to qualify for obtaining a PMA with the prefix 'K'.
 

So there is a directive, AG/10/67/5, issued either in 2014 or 2021 or 2024, where kids born to Sarawakian's born outside of Sarawak, will be given "A", not "K" passports.

For reference, this is what Section 71(1)(b)(ii) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 says:

 But this literally conflicts with what the (Sarawak) National Registration Department says:

(See here for translation)

So what is going on?

Which led me to my next channel: Talikhidmat. Specifically, raised Talikhidmat case number 20250715-0182 on 15 July 2025: 

English version:

Hi Talikhidmat,

I hope you can help me route this query, as there is a lack of clarity on who is responsible for answering my question about anak Sarawak who are born outside Sarawak/Malaysia and their eligibility for Sarawak “K” (Sarawak Residence) status.

The scenario is as such: 2 Sarawakians (husband and wife) with Sarawak “K” status on MyKad, validly married under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, give birth outside Malaysia. The child applies for a Malaysian passport, as is given a “A” (ie. West Malaysia) passport, while the parents have both “K” Malaysian passports and Sarawak “K” status on MyKad.

According to NRD (National Registration Department), as long as one of the parents of the child is a Sarawak Resident, the child will be a Sarawak resident/ Sarawak “K” status. Please refer to “1. Pertanyaan mengenai status orang Sarawak yang dilahir di luar negeri Sarawak.pdf” attached to this ticket of written correspondence from NRD.

This is consistent with other parts of the Sarawak government, where the criteria for EFS and BIB is that only one of the parent of the child needs to be Sarawak “K”, and is eligible even if they are born outside Malaysia. See “3. Kelayakan Endowment Fund Sarawak.pdf” and “4. Kelayakan Bantuan Ibu Bersalin.pdf” attached to this ticket.

However, immigration has issued these 2 Sarawakians (husband and wife) with Sarawak “K” status on MyKad, a West Malaysia (“A” passport), and have referenced directive AG/10/67/5 from the Sarawak Attorney General that a child born outside of Malaysia to anak Sarawak (Sarawak “K” status on MyKad) will not get a “K” passport automatically. See “2. Balas Imigresen Pertanyaan mengenai status orang Sarawak yang dilahir di luar negeri Sarawak.pdf”

Thus, my questions are:
1. Why the inconsistencies between NRD, Immigration, and Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK), on what constitutes a anak Sarawak (ie. Sarawak “K” status)?
2. What is the process to get a “Certificate of Status”, as mentioned in correspondence IMI.029833/IM.101/Q-UPSKK/954(12) from immigration, to be considered anak Sarawak? What is the criteria, and documentation required?

I hope Talikhidmat can assist with this query of mine. Thanks in advance.

Versi Bahasa:

Pihak Talikhidmat,

Saya harap Talikhidmat dapat membantu dalam pertanyaan saya ini, kerana terdapat kekurangan kejelasan mengenai pihak siapa yang bertanggungjawab untuk menjawab soalan saya tentang anak Sarawak yang dilahir di luar Sarawak/Malaysia, dan kelayakan mereka untuk status "K" Sarawak (Sarawak Resident).

Senario adalah seperti berikut: 2 anak Sarawak (suami dan isteri) yang mempunyai status “K” pada MyKad, berkahwin secara sah di bawah Akta Pembaharuan Undang-Undang (Perkahwinan dan Perceraian) 1976, melahirkan anak di luar Malaysia. Anak tersebut memohon pasport Malaysia dan diberikan pasport “A” (pasport Semenanjung Malaysia), sementara kedua-dua ibu bapa mempunyai pasport Malaysia “K” dan status “K” Sarawak pada MyKad mereka.

Menurut JPN (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara), jika salah seorang daripada ibu atau bapa kepada kanak-kanak tersebut adalah Sarawak Resident, anak itu akan menjadi Sarawak resident/status “K” Sarawak. Sila rujuk kepada surat dari JPN “1. Pertanyaan mengenai status orang Sarawak yang dilahirkan di luar negeri Sarawak.pdf” yang dilampirkan kepada tiket ini.

Ini selaras dengan bahagian lain/initiatif kerajaan Sarawak, di mana kriteria untuk EFS dan BIB adalah bahawa hanya salah seorang ibu bapa anak tersebut perlu mempunyai status “K” Sarawak, dan mereka layak untuk EFS dan BIB walaupun mereka dilahirkan di luar Malaysia. Sila rujuk kepada “3. Kelayakan Endowment Fund Sarawak.pdf” dan “4. Kelayakan Bantuan Ibu Bersalin.pdf” yang dilampirkan dalam tiket ini.

Namun, JIM (Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia) telah mengeluarkan pasport Semenanjung Malaysia (“A” passport) kepada anak yang dilahirkan kepada 2 Sarawak resident/anak Sarawak (suami dan isteri) yang mempunyai status “K” Sarawak pada MyKad,, dan telah merujuk kepada arahan AG/10/67/5 dari Pejabat Peguam Besar Negeri Sarawak, bahawa anak yang dilahirkan di luar Malaysia kepada anak Sarawak (status “K” Sarawak pada MyKad) tidak akan secara automatik mendapatkan pasport “K”. Sila rujuk kepada “2. Balas Imigresen Pertanyaan mengenai status orang Sarawak yang dilahir di luar negeri Sarawak.pdf”.

Soalan saya adalah:

1) Mengapa terdapat ketidakselarasan antara JPN, JIM, dan Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Kanak-Kanak dan Kesejahteraan Komuniti (KPWK) mengenai kriteria anak Sarawak (iaitu, status “K” Sarawak)?
2) Apakah proses untuk mendapatkan “Perakuan Taraf” (Certificate of Status), seperti yang disebut dalam surat-menyurat IMI.029833/IM.101/Q-UPSKK/954(12) dari JIM, untuk anak yang dilahir di luar Malaysia kepada 2 Sarawak resident (“K” Sarawak pada MyKad mereka) untuk mendapat status “K” Sarawak? Apakah kriteria dan dokumentasi yang diperlukan?

Saya berharap untuk menerima maklum balas daripada Talikhidmat. Sekian, terima kasih

 

(Can I just say I'm surprised at myself that I can still write surat rasmi (formal letters) in BM after all these years. Sure, it took me an hr, but I got there in the end. Also, Sarawak is the place where both English and BM is still accepted)

First to reply was the National Registration Department of Sarawak on 17 July 2025:

My English translation:

"For reference the granting of the 'K' Indicator on the Identity Card for children born in Peninsular Malaysia/Sarawak/Sabah/Abroad is based on the Indicator on the Identity Card of one of the parents (who have their marriage validly registered in Malaysia)

However, the process for issuing a Passport is subject to the procedures of the Immigration Department of Malaysia, Sarawak State, that are in effect."

So it is still the same: the marriage needs to be legally registered in Malaysia under Malaysian Law, but only 1 parent is required to be Sarawakian "K" for the kid to also be Sarawakian "K"

Next up was the (Sarawak) Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, responding on 18 July 2025:

Yep, consistent with their own website, and public pronouncements, any child born to at least one Sarawakian "K" parent, is eligible for EFS and Post-Natal Assistance (BIB). 

With tracibility, in a way, I was waiting with bated breath on how the Immigration Department of Malaysia, Sarawak would respond. Which they did on 23 July 2025:

My English translation:

It is informed that the three agencies mentioned by the complainant [me] are three (03) agencies that issue different documents which have different functions. In this regard, the proposal for harmonisation of these inconsistencies is noted for appropriate action.

The "Certification of Status" is a document issued under Regulation 3 of the Immigration Regulations 1963 to an individual who has a claim to Malaysian citizenship by operation of law under Article 14 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia

The application for a Certificate of Status is a process to confirm that an individual is considered as a person originating from East Malaysia (Sarawak) for the purpose of the right of entry into Sarawak, and serves as one of the foundational documents for the issuance of the prefix 'K' on Passports and Immigration Travel Documents

The 'K' prefix on Immigration Travel Documents grants the holder the right to enter and reside in Sarawak, Malaysia, without the need to obtain a Permit or Pass for the purposes of Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1959/63. This certificate indicates that the holder of the Certificate of Status originates from Sarawak/Sabah for the purposes of Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1963. Both Sections are to be read together in reference to Part VII of the Immigration Act 1959/63. However, the burden of proof that any person is a citizen lies upon the person.

To appply for a Certificate of Status, the following documentation is required:

i) Form IMM.1
ii) Cover Letter from the Sponsor
iii) Birth certificates of the child, father, mother
iv) Confirmation of Citizenship Status Certificate / Form W/H (both originals and copies)
v) National identity card (originals and copies) of child, father, mother
vi) Parents marriage certificate (originals and copies)
vii) Malaysian passports of child, father, mother, with original and copies of all pages (!)
viii) Current photo oh child (5 copies), parents (1 copy) (passport sized)
ix) a family photo in 3R size (1 copy)

For all the flack that M'sians give the civil service, and a lot of it is warranted, I must say I'm quite impressed that:

a) they responded
b) in a timely fashion
c) with detail

(Yes, we have a very low opinion of things in Malaysia. So does my family of me)

I must say in between the responses from the National Registration Department of Sarawak, the (Sarawak) Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, and the Immigration Department of Malaysia, Sarawak, very interesting.

Based on the current laws, a kid born outside of Malaysia can be considered Anak Sarawak (Sarawakian Resident) for BIB and EFS, but not considered Sarawakian for immigration purposes to stay in Sarawak.

Well isn't that confusing.

And all this is not documented anywhere. You'd think that this was the first time a Sarawakian has given birth outside of Malaysia, given how much misinformation there is out there.

Fact check: is the Sarawak Labour Ordinance a Federal legislation

 Short answer: yes, but not as simple as other Federal legislation to amend

Two news items caught my eye: Union chief: S’wak Labour Ordinance can be amended in Parliament once state cabinet agrees

The Sarawak Labour Ordinance 1959 (SLO), a federal law, can only be amended in Parliament once the State Cabinet agrees to it, said Sarawak Bank Employees Union (SBEU) chief executive officer Andrew Lo.

But:  Human Resources Ministry asks Sabah, Sarawak to amend labour ordinance to comply with Employment Act 1955

The governments of Sabah and Sarawak are advised to amend their respective state Labour Ordinance to be consistent with the amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (EA 1955), said Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud.

He said the amendment, which can only be made through the approval of the State Legislatures in Sabah and Sarawak, will allow Malaysian workers in both regions to enjoy the same rights and benefits as people in other states under the Federation of Malaysia.

And there is this: Sarawak Labour Ordinance amendments to be presented in Parliament

The Sarawak Labour Ordinance (SLO) amendment will be tabled in the forthcoming parliamentary session for approval.

Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala said the amendment is crucial for the well-being of workers in Sarawak.

“And I am proud to say that we have obtained approval from the Ministry of Human Resources in Kuala Lumpur, where the amendments have been approved and submitted to the ministry.

“Our hope is that the amendments will be tabled in the forthcoming parliamentary session probably in June or July,” he said.

So why is the Federal parliament involved with a piece of state legislation?

Quick lesson on legislation: in Malaysia, Federal legislation are called Acts, such as the Income Tax Act 1967, Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, etc

State legislation are generally called Enactments, such as the Penang Freedom of Information Enactment 2010, Kedah Islamic Family Law (Kedah Darul Aman) Enactment 2008, Perlis Administration of Muslim Law Enactment 1963, etc

Except Sarawak, where they are called Ordinances.

(As to why they're called Enactments vs Ordinances, that's another post for another time)

So why is the Sarawak Labour Ordinance, given the reference number Cap. 76 in the list of Sarawak state legislation, required to be modified by the Federal parliament?

As it turns out, it comes back to Inter-Governmental Committee Report on Malaysia, MA63, and the 9th Schedule of the Federal Constitution as modified by the Malaysia Acts.

The first hint comes from the List Of Amendments section of the Sarawak Labour Ordinance:

Hasn't been modified much since its enactment in 1957. What was interesting was the fact it was last modified in 2005, by the Labour Ordinance of Sarawak (Amendment) Act 2005. A Federal piece of legislation.

Digging into the Federal Parliament Hansard, I found the first mention of the amendment act on the 9 December 2004 hansard, at page 46:

Translation: Mr. Yang di Pertua, I beg to suggest that the Bill named Sarawak Labor Ordinance Chapter 76 (Amendment) 2004 be read for the second time now. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, The Labour Ordinance Sarawak Chapter 76 was enacted with effect from on 1 January 1952 by Human Resources Department of Sarawak which was then known
as The Department of Labour Sarawak. 

This Ordinance became an piece of Federal legislation from Malaysia Day 1963 through a notification of the Ordinance under the Malaysian Acts. This Ordinance is the primary legislation relating to the themes and conditions of of employment of workers in the state of Sarawak. The Ordinance covers manual workers only. The last amendment to the ordinance was made in 1964. In Annex A, list 1/15 of the Report of the Intergovernmental Committee 1962 it was specified  that labor and social security matters including labor unions, unemployment and other labor, unemployment etc. are under the federal list. But it also
made the following concessions:

(a) For interim period until otherwise agreed the commissioners of labour of Sarawak and North Borneo shall remain in charge of the respective departments and should have direct access to the federal ministry and should be directly responsible to the Federal Minister of Labour;
(b) In the case of Sarawak the Sarawak Labour Laws shall remain enforce and Malaysia is establish and as necessary they should be a gradual move towards a comment form of
Malaysian legislation in this respect;
(c) In the case of North Borneo and Sarawak they should be a delegation of powers to make subsidiary legislation to due with the conditions peculiar to the state

So what happened was that in the Inter-Governmental Committee Report on Malaysia, Labour would fall under the Federal List, which was codified as MA63, and put into the 9th Schedule of the Federal Constitution via Malaysia Act 1936 (Act No 26 of 1963).

But via MA63, the states of Sarawak (and Sabah) will maintain their own Labour Laws "to deal with conditions peculiar to the State", and that changes to what is ostensibly federal legislation that impacts the Borneo states require approval from their respective governments.

If one had a time machine, it would be interesting to see the debates and discussions during the Cobbold Commission on how they ended up with list 1/15 of Annex A in the Inter-Governmental Committee Report on Malaysia.

If I had to guess, it was to try and bridge the compromises of losing the ability of the Borneo states to maintain some level of control, while acknowledging that most industrial relations laws in a Federation system of government generally falls on the federal government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

End note: it was quite interesting tracing the legislative history of Labour Ordinance of Sarawak (Amendment) Act 2005:

 First and Second reading on 9 Dec 2004 (page 46): https://www.parlimen.gov.my/files/hindex/pdf/DR-09122004.pdf

Second and Third reading rubber stamped on 13 Dec 2024 (page 16):  https://www.parlimen.gov.my/files/hindex/pdf/DR-13122004.pdf

Sent to the Dewan Negara on 21 Dec 2004: https://www.parlimen.gov.my/files/hindex/pdf/DN-21122004.pdf

It went through the first, second, and third readings in less than half an hour, and was then rubber stamped on the same day it was brought to the Dewan Negara.

Those were the days when one party held all the power and could push through amendments in less than 3 weeks.

Exclusive: 3/4 Malaysian passport holders require additional processing for Australia ETA

One year ago, I lodged a Freedom of Information request to get some stats on the rate of additional processing for Australia ETA applications. Since then, there has been a Foreign Minister visiting Malaysia, and assurances that it was being looked into.

Also, in a year, Department of Home Affairs has created a new process for Data Requests, which is cheaper (and supposedly faster) than the FOI process. 

On 21 Jan 2024 I put in a data request, asking for the number of visa subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority) applications, and the number of those which were flagged for further processing and such communicated to the application, by the list of countries eligible for visa subclass 601, between the dates of 28 Nov 2022 and 1 Jan 2024. Picking up from when I last did it.

The data was released to me on 15 Feb 2024. So 25 days, or 18 weekdays. So it is faster than my previous FOI process.

And, well, this is what I got:

Some observations:

1) The date range provided was 1 Dec 2022 to 31 Dec 2023, while I requested from 28 Nov 2022 and 1 Jan 2024. So I am missing about 3 days' worth of data from the previous release.

2) There are 270 applications from a "not specified" country. That does worry me a bit; how do you not know which country they're from when the list of ETA eligible countries is defined in legislation?

3) Interesting number of countries eligible for the eVisitor (subclass 651) (read: European Union countries) which is free, apply for the ETA (subclass 601), which costs AUD20. Why would anyone eligible for eVisitor apply for ETA?

To put the data in percentage points:

Easily 3/4 of Malaysian passport holders applying for the ETA are pulled into additional processing. When the average rate is 2.9% of applicants. 

It is slightly lower than the 77.30% rate from the previous data.

If you exclude Malaysia, the additional processing rate is 0.61726615%

Essentially, for Malaysian passport holders who don't pulled into additional processing when applying for a ETA, they are in the lucky 1/4.

This is clearly a systematic issue. 

I have no doubt there are a lot of career diplomats in Wisma Putra working tirelessly with the GoA to try and not have Malaysia downgraded.

I'm sure there is a South Korea desk also to add to the workload. This is why we can't have nice things.

Exclusive: Malaysian passport holders disproportionately singled out for Australia ETA appliction

Since Australia announced their re-opening of their international borders on 7 Feb 2022, there has been a lot of complaints from Malaysians on how difficult it has been to get a Electronic Travel Authority to enter Australia as a tourist.

Me myself I know 3 people who were impacted in getting a Australian ETA. Like most people, they have not been able to meet their families living in Australia for most of the pandemic, and were hoping to meet up with relatives in Australia, only to be dissapointed with requests for employment letters to bank statements, leading to rescheduled flights and disrupted plans.

A quick search online will find many stories of people having trouble getting into many western countries for tourism and work.

So much so, that the High Commission of Australia in Malaysia "recommend that you do not finalise travel arrangements or commitments until you have received advice that you have been granted a visa".

So I decided to lodge a Freedom of Information (FOI) request with Australian Immigration, to get some stats, and to put to bed once and for all, is it just a Malaysian thing, or this is more widespread.

Like Malaysia, Immigration is under the Home Affairs Ministerial portfolio. So in Nov 2022 I felt enough time had passed, to see if this was just a Malaysian issue, or is Australian immigration broken after the pandemic.

(There are a lot of things broken with Australian Immigration post pandemic, from migration to passport applications to clearance at passports. Plenty of media articles on them) 

It took about 3 months, if you ignore the Christmas-New Year shutdown, to get the data.

Essentially, what was released is a list of Australian ETA eligible countries, and the numbers of those pulled for additional processing:

Or to put it in percentage points, more than 77% of ETA applications from Malaysian passport holders are being pulled for additional processing.

 

This is much higher than the 3.13% average rate of additional processing numbers. If you exclude Malaysia as a data point, the average rate for additional processing for the other ETA eligible countries is 0.66%.

Looking at the rate of applications being pulled for additional processing, after Malaysia, it is Brunei, Malta, USA, and Hong Kong, which round up the top 5.

The question is, why?

GE15: My experience as a postal voter for the 2022 elections

Some history:

My experience as a postal voter during the 2021 Sarawak state elections

My experience registering and as a voter during the 2018 Federal Elections

My experience during the Sarawak state elections in 2016

My experience during the first time postal voting during GE 13

It has been nearly a decade since the fight to give Malaysian's living outside Malaysia the right to vote has been going on. There has been problems, issues, and challenges, but it would be unfair to say there has been no improvement, no matter how slow and glacial it is.

 

So on 10 Oct 2022, the backdoor government led by Ismail Sabri finally dissolved parliament, putting an end to the worst kept secret in Malaysia at that time. 

To its credit, the Electoral Commission opened postal voting applications on the same day. On the night of 10 Oct itself I applied for a postal vote, via the MySPR account, which I had from my experience as a postal voter during the 2021 Sarawak state elections. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If their transaction numbers are sequencial, I was the 8374th person that requested for a postal vote, on the actual day itselfof postal voting applications open.

5 days later, I got another email:

15 Oct was a Saturday, so someone at the EC was working late into Friday. Who says all government officers are inefficient?

So now the question was, how long would it take to get the ballot papers to me?

Nomination Day was 5 Nov 2022, so that was the earliest the EC could start printing the ballot papers.

So 5 Nov came and went. This is when the clock started ticking.

The earliest I heard of anyone getting a ballot paper was 11 Nov, a full week after nomination day. If one had received then, even with courier it was possible to get it back to the returning officer on time.

Over the weekend of 12 and 13 Nov, to DHL's credit, people started receiving their ballot papers. 

But for me? I became very familiar with my (physical) mailbox, checking it sometimes 3 times a day, waiting on my ballot papers. While people I knew started receiving their ballot papers.

Finally after returning from work on 16 Nov 2022, I found this:

It took 11 days, but my ballot papers finally arrived!

Inside the DHL envelope was a sealed (as in I needed a pair of scissors) envelope.

Looking at the tracking number, seems like my ballot papers were sent out 11 Nov, arriving to me on 16 Nov:

So that is problem No 1: it took a full 6 days to get my ballot papers out, and 5 days to get to me.

With election day on 19 Nov, and the rules stipulating that ballot papers needed to reach to the returning officers by 5pm on polling day, I didn't like my chances, even with courier, getting my ballot papers back within 3 days.

It became clear that there was a grassroots movement to link up people with people travelling back to Malaysia, echoing what happened in 2018.

In between MASCA QLD, AMSA, and various community groups dedicated to Malaysians in Brisbane, they set up collection points for the ballot papers, linking up with people who were travelling to Malaysia from Australia.

Ref: https://www.facebook.com/MASCA.Queensland/posts/pfbid0huXpNvzipSXSvhV8oQaqACAmAPvU9eYEL2tMvu3H2XErPZG31uQzXsabBvfEntUel

The closest one to me would be the one at QUT, so in the evening of a very windy Brisbane Wednesday, made my way back to my old stomping grounds.

 

I cannot thank the volunteers that put in all that time and effort to sit there the whole day, and the background counting and collecting, enough. I managed to get in by 7:23pm, when they closed for the day at 8pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this day, in this one collection point, they had received 60 ballots when I dropped mine off.

 

They even had indelible ink for the Malaysian Voting Experience™️©️®️

Got a shout out in the TVS Twitter account: https://twitter.com/tvstvmy/status/1592824720009101312

And that was it for me. Went home, had dinner, and resumed on with my life.

For the volunteers, the work was only beginning:

For what happened next, probably the following 2 news items are better than me explaining:

MalaysiaKini 18 Nov 2022: Malaysia’s diaspora sends tens of thousands of votes

Australia follows the UK with the most number of Malaysian residents. In Melbourne, 2,573 ballots were collected in six centres, and six flyers are due to return to Malaysia. Separately, another six flyers have carried Sydney’s 1,001 ballots from more than a dozen centres. In Sydney this morning, votes are still being collected by volunteer couriers who are flying back home today.

In Queensland, Hema Preya’s team bagged 540 ballots. Hema reported to the Global Bersih team that an airline pilot had agreed to carry ballots home to Malaysia. 

The Star, 18 Nov 2022: Youth volunteers urge EC to improve postal ballot system

Epilogue:

It has been a long journey to get here, from even getting government machinary to acknowledge the concept of postal voting for students in their own legislation, to increased time in getting ballot papers back. 

Progress is only made by people challenging the system with new ideas, not giving up because of inertia from mindsets past. As if the inertia of mindsets past was not new and novel previously.