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ALANG: The Malang Population and Civil Registration Agency says that half of the 43,021 toddler population in Malang, East Java, have no birth certificates.

Agency head Purnadi attributed the problem to parents’ lack of awareness of the requirement to immediately register their newborns.

“Birth certificates are important to enroll children in school, among other things,” Purnadi said on Wednesday as quoted by Antara.

He said the Home Ministry had made it easier for people to obtain birth certificates by allowing them to register children aged more than one year old without an official letter from a district court, as stipulated in a 2010 ministerial decree.

However, the decree expired on Dec. 31.

Therefore, Purnadi said, he would propose that the ministry extend the duration of the decree to the end of this year.

Malang city councillor Dwi Hari Cahyono called on the local administration to remove red tape in the issuance for not only birth certificates but also ID cards and family registration cards.