 benefits provided by the Malaysian government. They also do not have the right to vote. MyKAS (commonly known as Green IC) is a temporary resident identity card issued under Regulation 5 (3) of the National Registration Regulations 1990. It is green with expiry date indicated on the card. Though the holder of MyKAS is not accorded citizenship status, they are permitted to legally register their marriage with the NRD. MyKAS must be renewed within five years of issuance. Until 2011 MyKAS was issued usually to children who were born in Malaysia but did not have information about the parents or details about the parents' nationality or documentation status in their birth certificate8, allowing them to reside in Malaysia lawfully. Recipients of MyKAS included foundlings and abandoned children who grew up in government welfare houses, as well as other children who were born in Malaysia but who had not acquired citizenship. Some MyKAS documents identify the holder as being stateless. Even though the Government no longer issues MyKAS documents, those that were issued prior to 2011 are subject to renewal every 5 years. It was reported that 33,957 MyKAS holders were registered with the NRD until 30 Jun 2017. The figure includes a large number of MyKAS holders from East Malaysia i.e. 1507 holders from Sabah, 1137 from Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan and 2417 from Sarawak.9 In addition to the above stated identification documents, NRD also issues MyTentera for Malaysian Armed Forces personnel, and MyPolis for the Royal Malaysia Police personnel. 2.2 Birth Certificate Malaysia does not practice Universal birth registration. The country does not have a free-atall-stages birth registration system and registration is not automatic at birth. Instead, an applicant must register a birth with the Malaysian Government’s National Registration Department to receive a birth certificate. The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 requires the National Registration Department to register and issue birth certificates to all children born in Malaysia irrespective of the parents’ nationality status 10. The Birth certificate will be issued upon registration of the birth of a child, which, in West Malaysia, has to be done within 60 days of the date of birth of the child. Late registration could lead to the possibility of fined being imposed on the applicants and the children’s chances of getting automatic citizenship being jeopardized. According to NRD, a normal registration of birth refers to registration that is made within 14 days of the birth of a child. Applicants will be exempted of paying any application fee for normal registraton. While, late registration of birth refers to registration made more than 42 days after the date of birth of a child in Malaysia , and the applicant will be subjected to a penalty of not more than RM50, birth register search fee of RM5, and RM10 for the processing fee for late registration of birth. Parents who fail to register the births of their 8 Webmaster, M. (2008) November 19th. Thousands register for green MyKad. [online] Malaysia Today. Available at: https://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/11/19/thousands-register-for-green-mykad/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019]. 9 Malaysiakini (2018) July 19. 3030,856 pemastautin tetap, sementara setakat 30 Jun. Available at: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/434927 (Accessed 23 Mac 2020] 10 The Star Online. (2014) February 11th. NRD: Birth certs a must for kids born in Malaysia. [online] Available at: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2014/11/02/nrd-birth-certs-a-must-for-kids-born-in-malaysia [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019] DHRRA Malaysia Page 7 of 29