Pankhin project: 3.8 million People across the nation need citizen card

Union Minister for Labour, Immigration and Population U Myint Kyaing presided over a coordination meeting on granting cards based on the population for Myanmar ethnic nationals in line with the citizenship law on Friday.

During the meeting, the Union Minister briefed them on the aim of the meeting regarding Pankhin project conducted by the ministry under the directives of the State Administration Council. Every national and every person born of parents, both of whom are nationals, are inborn citizens. Therefore, the ministry always grants household lists and a certain card to citizen/associate citizen/ naturalized citizen under the law. Although the officials keep conducting such operations, there are still people without any household lists and cards. It found more than 4.6 million people without any cards were included on voter lists in the 2020 General Election. According to the inspection, there are about 2 million people on the voter lists—some of the people have Citizen Scrutiny Card, but it stated blank numbers after (C) on the voter lists, ineligible voters and others without any cards. Therefore, the SAC Chairman gave instruction to grant CRC to every citizen to be able to cast a vote in the coming election. So the ministry drafted the Pankhin project. The Union Minister also said it should carry out to grant the cards to more than 3.8 million people across the nation during the Pankhin project period. The ministry has drafted the exact numbers of people in the respective region/state, and so the officials of relevant ministries should cooperate in implementing the project. The regional authorities also should help the people in giving their personal data like photo and blood types. It needs the recommendation of a township-level five-member committee in granting household lists and prioritized sectors based on the climate and region. The Union Minister also discussed the places to conduct the operation. It starts in the rainy season, and field study to be completed in the open season. The officials should report to the relevant region/state administration councils in addition to the officials of headquarters in a timely manner. He then urged the staff to make concerted efforts in implementing the Pankhin project, which brings various chances for Myanmar nationals to grab the rights of citizens. It also should follow the law, procedures and instructions. The department staff needs to serve their duties in addition to the responsibilities like granting household lists and cards.

Then, the region/state heads presented the work plans regarding the Pankhin project, and the Director-General for the Department of National Registration and Citizenship U Aung Kyaw Soe clarified the operations of the Pankhin project in details.

Then, the Union Minister and Deputy Minister coordinated the discussion and concluded the meeting.