Bungan is 30-year-old Penan woman who lives in the interior of Sarawak. She is married with two children, one of whom has a family of her own.

A shy person by nature, Bungan does not speak Bahasa Malaysia. In fact she has hardly stepped out of her village which is located in Ulu Baram.

NONE Some of the rare occasions she has ventured out into the ‘civilised world' were to deliver her two children and to seek medical attention, when there was an urgent need to see a doctor.

These were all done in a small town called Long San, located about five hours away from her village.

The last time she visited Long San was in February last year when she went to apply for her MyKad. She was 29 then and had missed applying for it at the age of 12, like the rest of us Malaysians do.

She was given a receipt by the National Registration Department (NRD) and told to come back in six months to collect her MyKad.

However, she was in for a shock when she went back to collect her MyKad in late August. She was told that she had collected her identity card on July 14.

"I had not collected the card and I told them so. I also told them that it could have been a mistake but I was merely told to re-apply for a new MyKad," she told Malaysiakini at her village recently.

Hers is not an isolated case. A quick survey by Malaysiakini found that many other Penans who had applied for MyKads have been told to re-apply for various reasons.

Some are even asked to go to the registration offices in Miri and Kuching to collect their identity cards.

In almost all cases, applicants are still waiting for their MyKads, some for 10 years. Fed up, a number of them have decided not to put in fresh applications.

The chief's theory

It has also discouraged others from applying for the first time. No one can blame them, given nonchalant treatment by NRD officers.

NONE "This is an old problem. The state knows about it. Even Chief Minister Taib Mahmud is aware of the situation," said Penan leader Unga Paren ( right ), one of a several Penan tribal leaders to have a MyKad.

Unga claimed that there is a conspiracy against the Penans. "The chief minister has labelled us as pendatang (outsiders) and troublemakers for protesting against the rampant logging.

"They hope that by sticking that pendatang label on us, they can get rid of us as foreigners. They can claim that, since we have no identity cards, we have no rights to these jungles."

He added that he could not think of any other reason why his people are being denied their MyKads.

"There are so many Penans without identity cards. Some have been waiting for almost 10 years, and these applications were submitted to the main NRD offices, not just to the mobile NRD units," he charged.

Another village head, Jawa Nyipa from Long Ajeng said he is still without a national identity card despite applying for one four times.

"If I myself have no identity card, how can I sign for my people to apply for their cards?" he asked.

A costly exercise

He showed the receipts given by the NRD to his people when they had applied for the MyKad. Most had handwritten remarks asking them to re-apply for the identity cards. Some were told that their files were lost.

NONE "Every time we have to go out to the NRD office, we will have to walk out of our village for about an hour, take the boat for another hour or so and then pay for a vehicle to take us to Long San, Marudi or Miri.

"Each trip costs us about RM100 to RM150 per person. It's too expensive...we can't afford it. To top it off, we have to pay for every new application that we make," lamented Jawa ( left )

This same complaint was repeated by almost all 11 Penan village heads met during a recent visit to Ulu Baram.

In some cases, the Penan applicants were told that their MyKads were at the NRD office in Kuching and by the time these were brought down to the nearest NRD office, several months would have passed.

It results in a number of applicants being slapped with hefty fines for late collection of their identity cards, which they can ill afford.

Long Lamam chief Balang Tui questioned the rational of the NRD in making them travel to the registration departments to collect the MyKads.

NONE "They are aware that we live in the interior. It makes more sense if they can come to our villages for us to apply and then return when the identity cards are ready.

"The NRD officials just need to make two trips every year to one main village and our MyKad problems will be solved," he said.

He added that the department should also use their discretion in approving the Penan applications, especially when it comes to documentary evidence sought to prove the identity of the applicant.

"If a father has no MyKad, then his children and grandchildren too will have difficulties in applying for one," Balang said, adding that the fines for late collection of MyKads should be waived.

Problems without MyKad

Native rights lawyer Paul Raja said that the entire MyKad fiasco is just frustrating the Penans.

NONE "Imagine the distances they have to travel to apply for their identity card, only to be told their cards were not ready or missing or worst that it has been collected by them," he said.

He added that the Penans realised the importance of having the MyKad and that was why they were still pushing the NRD for it despite facing so many hurdles.

Raja, a Kelabit from Long Lellang but now settled in Bintulu, however refused to openly state if he thought there was a 'sinister' reason for the delays in giving the Penans their identity cards.

"It was not so important when they were leading a nomadic lifestyle in the interiors. Now they are mostly settled with their children going to schools and they want to take advantage of the government health services," he added.

Without the MyKads, the Penans face problems in doing the most basic of things that the other citizens enjoy - they have problems in seeking treatment in hospitals, they can't apply for government grants and police reports are refused to be taken, even when it involves sex crimes. They are also not entitled to vote.

NONE But even more worryingly, without the identity cards, they are not treated as citizens and their nationality is being questioned.

There is also a fear among the Penan leaders that their identity cards are being hijacked by some quarters for their own gains. While they have no proof, these village heads talk about their identity cards being sold to foreigners or even being used by phantom voters.

As for Bungan, she is still hopeful of getting her MyKad as she wants to apply for a government grant to build a house. She is, nevertheless, worried as to who could have taken her MyKad.

Yesterday: It's not easy being a Penan

Tomorrow: ‘Penans will die if jungle is destroyed'

Plight of the Penan: 'Who cares?'

[Photos by Maran Perianen]