RANAU: Community leaders and Ketua-Ketua Adat are urged to play a more proactive role in helping to resolve documentation issues affecting local residents.
“They are the individuals closest to the community and have knowledge of the background and family history of local residents,” said Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam.
Dr Joachim said community leaders and Ketua-Ketua Adat, such as Ketua Daerah, Ketua Anak Negeri, representatives of Ketua Anak Negeri, Ketua Kampung and Kapitan, play a crucial role, particularly in resolving cases involving children and residents who still lack valid identification documents.
He said their cooperation is needed to help channel accurate, authentic and complete information to the authorities, especially in documentation cases requiring verification of an individual’s or family’s background.
He hoped the Community Development Leaders Unit and the Ranau District Office would emphasise to all Ketua-Ketua Adat the need to take a more proactive role in identifying and helping to resolve documentation issues within their respective communities.
“If you truly know the resident and their family in the village, help them in the process of obtaining valid documents.
“But if the individual is not known to you and you are not aware of their background, state honestly that you do not know them. Never give verification for something you yourself are not certain about,” he said when officiating the Ranau District Mobile Court Programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Tibabar Ranau on Friday.
Dr Joachim, who is also State Works and Utility Minister, said such firmness is important because verification from community leaders and Ketua-Ketua Adat helps the authorities obtain accurate information before an application is considered according to established procedures.
He said Ketua-Ketua Adat also need to help identify unresolved documentation cases in their respective villages so that the matter does not continue to drag on.
“Do not let this documentation problem drag on until it is eventually inherited by children and future generations.
“Cooperation from all parties is important to ensure every application can be considered fairly, transparently and in accordance with established procedures,” he said.
According to Dr Joachim, factors contributing to residents still lacking complete and valid identification documents include late birth registration, mixed marriages between local residents and foreign nationals, the absence of marriage registration documents, and delays in applying for identity cards.
He said the lack of valid documents can cause children to face difficulties accessing education, furthering their studies, obtaining good employment, and benefiting from various forms of government assistance and facilities.
Dr Joachim said the Mobile Court Programme is significant in helping to resolve long-standing documentation cases, particularly among rural communities.
He said the programme brings services directly to the people and ensures every eligible case receives attention and is processed according to the law.
Dr Joachim also dismissed claims that the Mobile Court Programme was created to make it easier for foreign nationals or undocumented migrants to obtain identification documents without going through a valid process.
