MALAYSIANS wishing to register a marriage, birth or death will have to wait close to two months for  they can get an appointment at the National Registration Department (NRD).

The long wait is due to the queue that has formed after nearly two years of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Health rules, such as those for social distancing and no-crowding, have also limited the number of people the department can serve in the day, leading to more delays.

Jayavaruman Subramaniam, 31, wanted to to register his marriage but was told he would have to wait until next year for an appointment.

I called (the NRD) in early August to get some information and was told to get an appointment online. When I checked, there was no slot available in August and the earliest date available was September 26,” he told The Malaysian Insight.  

“On September 26, I went to the UTC (Urban Transformation Centre) in Pudu, submitted the required forms and received a letter of acknowledgment from the registrar which allowed me to register my marriage.

“But since there were no slots available until next year, I had to resort to a private registrar at the Malaysian Hindu Sanggam office.”

He was told that the backlog was due to the NRD giving priority to weddings that were postponed during the lockdowns.

Non-Muslims can opt to register their marriage via private registrars who are usually tied to religious organisations.

Either option still needs an appointment with the authority to submit the forms.

A check by The Malaysian Insight at the NRD office in Putrajaya showed that the next available appointment slot was on December 12. A call to the NRD hotline yielded the same result.

All births, marriages, divorces, deaths, citizenships and adoptions must be registered with the NRD.

Nur Bahiyah, 35, a businesswoman, had to wait almost two months to register the birth of her son who was born during a lockdown in March last year.

“I gave birth on April 10, 2020 and I had to wait close to two months before I was able to get an appointment at the Putrajaya NRD office,” she said.

At the time, there was also confusion over whether walk-ins were allowed, she added.

“My husband went all the way to Putrajaya only to be told that he needed an appointment. It was a real hassle with the roadblocks and all.

“My husband didn’t want to take the risk of getting infected (by getting in the queue).”

Newborns must be registered at the NRD within 30 days of birth. However, due to the MCOs, the NRD has relaxed the rule.

A woman who spoke to The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity said she had a hard time getting an appointment for her father’s death certificate.

“My father passed away on February 8 this year, but I only managed to get an appointment in April. Once you’re there the whole process is quite seamless, but securing an appointment is a real challenge,” she said.

She was glad she had made an appointment as there was a long queue at UTC Pudu.

“It took me less than two hour to get everything sorted. The same person who was at the head of the queue when I arrived was still there when I left. The queue had not moved.

“Walk-ins are also not allowed to wait inside so people may end up queuing up for hours,” she said, adding that the resourceful ones brought their own folding chairs to sit in.

A notice on the JPN website informs people that they may now walk in to apply for a death certificate. – October 15, 2021.