LUMUT - After a seven-year struggle to obtain an identity card for her adopted daughter, Lee Nguik Kiew, 55, from Kampung Koh, Sitiawan, finally breathed a sigh of relief today as her ordeal came to an end.
Lee had made numerous trips to the National Registration Department to secure the crucial document, but her efforts had been fruitless.
"I even tried going through an agent, but that too was unsuccessful. I was worried as my daughter grew up without an identity card. It would have been difficult for her to attend school without it," she said.
Lee explained that her daughter, whom she adopted from a relative, did not have a birth certificate at the time of adoption.
"Two months ago, I sought help from our MP, Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham. I did not expect the process of getting an identity card to be so quick and successful," Lee said, adding that she had raised her adopted daughter since she was very young.
Yesterday, her daughter Ting Shi Er, 12, personally received her identity card from the Beruas MP in a ceremony at the Ayer Tawar Service Centre here.
Meanwhile, Ngeh said 28 individuals, six adults and 22 people aged 21 and below, received their identity cards today.
However, he noted three adults did not collect their cards as they had passed away.
"I would like to thank the Home Ministry for their prompt approval. Some applicants had been trying to obtain an identity card since 2008 without success," Ngeh said.
He added that the recipients are entitled to identity cards under the Federal Constitution and national laws.
"Without an identity card, basic tasks like attending school, opening a bank account, getting married, or finding a job become highly complicated,” he said. - BERNAMA