MyKad for decades, citizenship in doubt: NRD prioritises cases affecting jobs, healthcare and education

The National Registration Department is prioritising citizenship status reviews involving long-time MyKad holders whose employment, education, healthcare or banking access has been affected. — Picture by Choo Choy May

First Published: Wednesday, 28 Oct 2026 2:14 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — The National Registration Department (NRD) is prioritising reviews of citizenship status involving MyKad holders whose daily lives have been affected, particularly in areas such as employment, education, medical treatment and banking.

The Home Ministry (KDN) said priority was given to such critical cases based on an assessment of the facts and supporting documents, without compromising legal requirements.

It said each case was scrutinised based on birth records, identity card registration details, citizenship documents and other relevant evidence.

“In cases involving discrepancies, investigations and verifications are conducted in accordance with legal procedures before any decision is reached.

“Assessments are based on the facts and evidence of each case, rather than merely the length of time an individual has held an identification document,” the ministry said in a written parliamentary reply published on Parliament’s website.

The reply was in response to a question from Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Independent-Labuan), who asked about the government’s immediate measures to resolve cases involving long-term MyKad holders whose citizenship status was being reviewed, in some instances after decades of holding the identity cards.

He said the situation had affected their employment, education and daily lives.

The ministry advised individuals whose registration details contained discrepancies to apply for data corrections.

Those whose citizenship status remained undetermined, meanwhile, were required to submit formal applications through the appropriate legal channels before identification documents could be issued.

It added that individuals whose identity documents had been revoked due to inaccurate information could submit new applications through the established procedures, subject to the facts of their respective cases.

Meanwhile, the NRD continues to strengthen its verification, data-matching and biometric security mechanisms in accordance with the National Registration Act 1959 and the National Registration Regulations 1990. — Bernama