Its director Khairrul Aminus Kamaruddin said the paper is imported from a supplier from China but they were unable to deliver fresh batches due to flooding in their city recently.

He said the department’s stock of 24,081 certificates ran out in early October and this affected the 3,200 applications submitted since that month.

“This is the first time we have encountered such a problem. We apologise for the delay and the inconveniences caused but this is out of JPN’s control,” he told reporters at the state JPN office here today.

He added that the Sarawak JPN is also facing a similar problem.

However, Khairrul denied a claim over social media that the shortage had been going on for the last 10 months.

He explained that once the special paper is shipped into the country, it will be printed with the Malaysian emblem and JPN logo in the peninsula before being sent to the state where they will print the particulars of the applicants.

“A fresh batch arrived in the country and went through the customs checks on Dec 6. The printing company in the peninsula received the stock two days later for the first round of printing.

“To ensure we get the printed certificates by next week at the latest, my officers would be going to the peninsula to collect the forms from the printing company so as to avoid any further delay due to logistics,” Khairrul said.

He added that there were 29 JPN offices across the state to which the forms need to be distributed.

According to Khairrul, parents who have not been issued the birth certificate for their newborn, can obtain a confirmation slip of their child’s birth certificate application should they need to return or travel to the peninsula or Sarawak.