21/08/2025

THURSDAY | AUG 21, 2025

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Outreach programme ramps up ID access, cuts delays: Home minister

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry is intensifying efforts to improve access to identification documents through the National Registration Department’s Menyemai Kasih Rakyat (Mekar) outreach programme. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Mekar, an initiative aimed at ensuring all eligible citizens have access to identification documents, is designed to ‘go to the people’rather than waiting for them to come to the department counters. “As of July 31, a total of 1,633 Mekar programmes had been conducted, resulting in 24,863 applications being processed. We also provide advisory services, which have already benefited more than 20,000 individuals,” he told reporters after the ministry’s monthly assembly yesterday. One of the programmes, Mekar Didik was launched in Nov 2024 to help schoolchildren without birth certificates or identity documents. Between then and June this year, Mekar Didik had assisted 12,101 students, achieving the target set with the Education Ministry. Saifuddin said the ministry has also advanced its Reformasi Kerenah

Families who once waited months can now receive documents in a fraction of the time,” he said. He added that the department is also streamlining MyKad services to reduce waiting times and expand its role as a national digital identity platform. Children applying for MyKad at age 12 can now obtain their card within 30 minutes, while replacements for lost or damaged cards can be issued on the same day. “MyKad is central to our digital identity framework, supporting biometric verification, healthcare services, driving licence data and inter agency data sharing with the police, Inland Revenue Board, Road Transport Department and the Health Ministry,” he said, adding that MyKad also integrates with MySejahtera, e-Tanah and MyGovUC. Most recently, the RM100 Sara one-off cash assistance was disbursed through MyKad to recipients aged 18 and above.

The National Registration Department’s Mekar outreach programme is aimed at ensuring all eligible citizens have access to identification documents. – ADAM AMIR HAMZAH/THESUN

Saifuddin also said the department is currently finalising a new version of MyKad with stronger security features and a more durable design. – By FAIZ RUZMAN More daily essentials spared from tax under SST expansion PETALING JAYA: Malaysians will see more essentials spared from tax under the Sales and Services Tax (SST) soon with the number of exempted or zero-rated goods tripling compared with those under the abolished Goods and Services Tax (GST). In a written reply to the Dewan Rakyat, the Finance Ministry said 1,826 goods will be exempted or zero-rated under SST following a rate review and scope expansion effective last month, marking a sharp rise from the 607 goods that enjoyed zero-rated status under GST before it was scrapped in 2018. The exemptions cover a wide range of daily necessities, including raw and unprocessed foods such as chicken, beef, mutton, fish, vegetables, local fruits and rice as well as processed items such as flour, sugar, salt, bread, milk and palm cooking oil. Medicines, medical devices and reading materials are also exempt alongside animal feed, construction materials, fertilisers, pesticides and agricultural and livestock machinery. The reply was in response to a question from Yuneswaran Ramaraj (PH–Segamat) on the number of items exempted under SST compared with GST. On the services side, the government clarified that SST applies to 70% of services in the economy, slightly lower than the 76% under GST. Key basic services remain exempt from service tax, including land and sea transport such as school buses, express buses, LRT, trains and ferries; air transport for rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak; prepaid telecommunication services; food delivery services; residential rentals and maintenance; water supply; and electricity for households consuming below 600kWh. The Finance Ministry stressed that the SST expansion is being carried out in a careful, targeted and progressive manner to cushion the impact on the cost of living while promoting sustainable economic growth. “The larger number of exempted goods and the lower percentage of taxable services under SST compared with GST reflect the government’s commitment to the welfare of the people while ensuring stronger fiscal sustainability under the Madani economic framework.” Ű BY KIRTINEE RAMESH newsdesk@thesundaily.com

copies of overseas birth certificates, or Form H, which can be completed in seven days instead of 52. “These two areas were chosen because the impact is immediate.

Birokrasi initiative, or the bureaucratic red-tape reforms, to cut red tape in public services. Under the reforms, procedures such as late birth registrations for

children in government health facilities will be processed within 30 days, compared with three months previously. Another is the application process for certified under five born

Five teens face charges of verbal abuse towards Zara

first accused while the other four were represented by lawyers Azhier Farhan Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar, Farah Nazriah Chun Lee, Fareez Salleh and Sylyester Kuan. Previously, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in a statement said it had examined the investigation papers into the student’s death, which were referred by the police and decided to charge several suspects based on available evidence. The AGC also said an inquest still needs to be conducted to determine the actual cause of death. On Aug 12, the AGC decided on the inquest to ascertain the cause and circumstances behind the death of Zara Qairina after reviewing the investigation report submitted by the police. The Coroner’s Court, on Monday, set Sept 3 for the inquest. Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital on July 17 after she was found unconscious in a drain near the school hostel on the morning of July 16. – Bernama vice division infiltrated online networks and followed payments through mule accounts. “In both cases, technology is being weaponised. The same investigative techniques used in adult exploitation cases can help uncover how children are being manipulated.” On Monday, Saifuddin told the Dewan Rakyat that the 12-year-old had quit school after her earnings from selling explicit images online surpassed her parents’ combined income. He also linked the case to a similar modus operandi in swinger activities that had been uncovered previously. “In the swinger cases, the modus operandi was almost the same, where a fee was charged before participation. The difference is that one used dating websites, while the other was through WhatsApp. Both required lengthy surveillance processes,“ he added.

o Accused pleaded not guilty and court allowed RM5,000 bail each with one surety: DPP

KOTA KINABALU: Five teenage girls were charged at the Children’s Court yesterday with using abusive words against Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir last month. The charges against the five were read before Sessions Judge Elsie Primus in closed proceedings. According to the charge sheet, the five, acting with common intention, allegedly uttered abusive words directed at Zara Qairina, which were heard by the victim and could have caused her distress. The offence was allegedly committed at Block A-3-6 of the Rabiatul Adawiyah dormitory at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha Limauan W.D.T 15, Papar, between 10pm PUTRAJAYA: Investigations into Geng Budak Sekolah have widened, with police focusing on individuals believed to be orchestrating the minors’ involvement in online child exploitation. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the case involving a 12 year-old girl who created and managed a website to sell explicit photographs had exposed disturbing patterns of abuse. “This is not a normal case. It involves children running platforms that require money transfers and digital coordination. Police have to approach it carefully, working with psychologists and child specialists to avoid further harm to the victims.” He said police have yet to establish the facts and stressed that the investigation must Ű BY FAIZ RUZMAN newsdesk@thesundaily.com

and 11pm on July 15. The charge was framed under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which carries a maximum jail term of one year, or a fine or both upon conviction. DPP Nor Azizah Mohamad told the media outside the court after proceedings that all the students had pleaded not guilty to the charges. “The court set Sept 25 for mention of the case and allowed bail of RM5,000 with one surety for each of the teenagers,” said Nor Azizah, who was assisted by DPPs Nik Haslinie Hashim and Deepa Nair Thevaharan. Lawyer Datuk Ram Singh represented the be handled with utmost care and in strict compliance with procedures as it involves minors. “There are specific protocols for handling cases involving children, such as photographs cannot be shown, names cannot be disclosed and so forth. The police are therefore carrying out their duties through the Criminal Investigation Department’s Women and Child Investigation Division (D11),“ he told reporters after the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly. The group, with over 700 members, is believed to have operated through a WhatsApp platform in which images were circulated and payments arranged. Saifuddin said enforcement teams are tracing the data trail and financial records to identify those profiting from the activities. He drew comparisons with investigations into ‘swinger’ groups, in which the D7 anti

Police widen probe into child exploitation ring