Incidents of erroneous entries in MyKads over the holder's faith are too numerous to be considered clerical errors, thus must be investigated throughly and the culprits must be punished, said Aliran president P Ramakrishnan.

He said that MyKads were once considered reliable database to verify important details of Malaysian citizens but is now viewed as corrupted with false information.

"It is difficult to accept that such cases are the outcome of genuine mistakes. (An individual's) religious faith is clearly stated on the application form for the MyKad," said Ramakrishnan in a statement.

Ramakrishnan said that non-Muslim families stand to suffer when their kin is deceased but are recorded as a Muslim on their MyKads, as they have no rights to the deceased's body and assets.

A proper explanation by the authorities should be forthcoming or Malaysians will lose trust in the MyKad system, he said.

No proof needed

Meanwhile, Deputy Home Minister Tan Chai Ho clarified that non-Muslims do not have to provide proof of religious conversion to the National Registration Department (NRD).

Previously, newly-appointed NRD director-general Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad said that non-Muslims needed to show proof that they had converted to changed faiths "to prevent abuse".

Tan said that the cabinet had decided that non-Muslim applicants merely need to state their religion in an "A" form at the NRD, reported the New Straits Times .

In related development, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said that she will be presenting proof that 300 Christians have been mistakenly recorded as being of a different faith, to Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid.

"There are many pastors in this country who are recorded as Buddhists," she added.

The latest MyKad blunder was reported by Setiawan state assemblymen Ngeh Koo Ham (right) and his wife, who are both recorded as having no religion, when in fact they are Christians.