I now officially proclaim myself as Jin Doe.
Don't ask me who I am and where I came from, because my identity is now a mystery. I didn't say that myself; the banks did. Every bank I went to had trouble reading my thumbprint with the Mykad reader device. Couldn't even open a new account with Public Bank last month- until I drove home to bring my passport and birth certificate. So my IC is defunct. Also my identity.
What happened, you ask? Well, blame it on the harsh chemicals that we all use for cleaning. It could've been the detergent, dishwashing liquid, laundry cleanser- or all three. Whatever it was, it cleaned so well that even my identity has been wiped off.
As a concerned and responsible citizen, I went to Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara to see what can be done. Hey, it's no joke losing your thumbprints- I'd have trouble withdrawing money, getting through immigrations, even getting my dead body identified if something happened to me!
The lady at the JPN was really professional- she said she'd check my Mykad first to see if the chip had malfunctioned. Nope, OK lagi, she said. Then she checked my thumbprints. Again and again. Yep, goners indeed. The only saving grace is that there's still some inkling of markings on my left thumb, but they were so poor most banks couldn't pick it up. Still, the canggih device at JPN could trace my entire history, from my first IC till this third one. She even showed me the monitor, where I saw my progression from a young teen to a young lady to a mid-aged old bird.
So how now, I asked? Tak boleh buat apa, Puan (Can't do anything about it, Ma'am). If you ever get into trouble, just go to the nearest JPN counter and ask for a print out of your Mykad. What if I was overseas? Hmmm...even she had no answer, except to say I should keep out of trouble then.
Keep out of trouble, huh? What's life without some excitement?
Next stop- to see a dermatologist. Would be interesting to see what a skin specialist has to say. Will I be cured? Or will I stay Jin Doe for the rest of my life?
To think babies start developing their thumbprints when they are a feotus of 4 or 5 months. So now I'm back to feotal stage. Perhaps this is a sign that I should start life afresh, at this tender age of 40? Develop a new set of thumbprints. And a brand new identity.
