Megan is a recognized Malaysian

2 days ago, Megan is officially a Malaysian. I think I have not written about this before, and so, here goes. Beware though, that this is going to be quite lengthy.

Megan was born on 9th January 2009. We were to have registered her within 42 days. As usual, hubby and I were fashionably late and I learnt (again) that procrastination never pays - big time!

We went to the nearest NRD and were told that they could not register her as she has already passed the 42 days. We had to go to the KL HQ which is in Maju Junction Mall. In the paper that accompanied the registration, it was mentioned that after 42 days, we were to pay RM15 for processing fee and a RM50 fine. Check it here.

When we got to Maju Junction, the lady at Counter 12 told is that there is a list of forms and requirements we have to get in order to have Megan registered. This include the forms that we had, a form to paste all of our passport photos and a 4R photo of Megan, Megan's immunization records as well as a copy of Ryan's birth certificate. And we also had to go see a Commissioner of Oath to swear and for him to sign another form. And to top it all off, we were told that we had to go for an interview!! And that was a good 3 months away! I am still thinking why they could only interview 3 people a day when the lady there told me that there is a whole bunch of people out there waiting to have their registration done.

After 3 months, we finally went for the interview on 26th May 2009. It was a stupid interview really. We brought Megan and I thought that they would at least give her a good look to see if she resembles us or something. But all that happened was that the lady told us that we have to be interviewed separately - me and Megan and hubby by himself.

The questions asked included when we were married, where we were married, when Megan was born, where she was born, who delivered her, whether I went for my pre natal check-ups, who did them for me, why we were late etc. The exact same questions were asked of hubby, made me think that they were actually checking to see if we were genuinely married. Poor Megan was left out.

After completing the interview, we were told that we had to wait 1.5 months to see if my application was approved before I get her birth cert. And then, I have to wait another 1 month to get her MyKid. I could feel my blood boil in my face when I heard that. And the bloody lady was downright rude too. She did not display any empathy towards Megan not having a birth cert.

When I said that I needed her birth cert to buy an insurance plan, she said "Tak payah belilah, siapa suruh lambat! Ini bukan saya buat punya proses!' I swear, I could have slapped her face, but then, Megan was watching me ...

The next day, I went into a writing rampage, to 3 main papers' editors as well as to the DG of NRD and the Pengarah of KL HQ. The whole day I was thinking about whether any of my emails were read, I was not sure if my emails were going to help the situation or was going to make our application buried even deeper.

So, you can imagine my surprise when the very next day after all those emails, I got a phone call from the Pengarah of the KL HQ NRD!! He said he was trying to see if I could meet up to receive Megan's birth cert! Wow! I almost could not believe it! He was even asking me if I could come up to his office to have some coffee. After some negotiations on time, he finally said that he will come by personally to my office to deliver it to me!! Yipee!!

When I met that guy, he was all apologetic, although he did defend all the stupid procedures they had. And he told me that I will be getting Megan's MyKid in 10 days! Yay!! When I got back to the office, I saw an email from his boss in Putrajaya, stating he was all sorry and sad and regret, and have directed the Pengarah to take care of this problem immediately.

While I am relieved that I got all my documents in place, I still cannot help but think about why all these procedures needed to be in place. It is not like we are immigrants, we are bloody Malaysians and although we are late, should we make a poor child suffer? Why not just impose a higher fine? Why not just come clean with the procedures on the Net? Why spring the surprise? And why bring the baby? Was it to prove that we have a legit kid and not bought? What makes them think that if we had reported it within the 42 days, then it would have been a legit kid? Honestly, all these procedures really do not make sense.

Anyhow, thankful we have solved this. And Megan is a recognized Malaysian. Yay!