Sibu man finally gets long-awaited blue IC, rights as Sarawakian

SIBU (Dec 28): Twenty-six-year-old Chew Jin Hong finally received his blue identification card (IC) from the National Registration Department yesterday.

He received the IC from the head of National Registration Department (NRD) UTC Sibu Norazizan Hamzah in the presence of his father, Chew Hua Chiaw, and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Bawang Assan Community and Development Committee chairman Kevin Lau at the department.

Lau said that Jin Hong initially only has the temporary green IC.

He said the family staying in the Empawah area informed his team during the previous outreach service that they had applied for blue IC but had yet to receive any response for a long time.

“On Oct 14, we happened to visit their house during our house-to-house visit, and they told us about the problem they faced. They asked us to assist in communicating with NRD, and we helped with follow-up,” he said.

Lau thanked NRD for their cooperation in helping to facilitate the application.

“Applying for Sarawak citizenship is quite a challenge for him considering that his birth certificate is from Sabah and his family was relocated to the Empawah area,” he said.

Now he said Jin Hong could enjoy the same rights as Sarawak people.

Lau also said that his committee acted as a bridge between the people and government in resolving issues.