Investigation papers opened on fake IC sellers
KOTA KINABALU: Investigation papers have been opened on syndicates selling fake MyKad following reports of terrorists getting their hands on them.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the probe was being done by the National Registration Department (NRD) and police for the Home Ministry.
Commenting on reports where high-risk elements were able to sneak into the country using fake identity cards, Zahid, who is home minister, said NRD and the Immigration Department had taken steps to boost checks, especially at air entry and exit points.
“I have asked the Immigration director-general (Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali) to place personnel to conduct random scans.
“At the initial stage, we will know whether an identification card is authentic or fake,” he said, adding that the step had been taken before the incidents were reported.
“We took steps so fake MyKad holders won’t escape Immigration or NRD personnel,” he said, adding that arrests had been made.
Zahid said this after visiting the Sabah police contingent headquarters and receiving a briefing on election preparations here.
In an exclusive report on Feb 12, the News Straits Times revealed that high-risk elements, including suspected foreign terrorists, had sneaked into the country using forged Malaysian identification documents.
This included suspected terrorists from the Philippines, who slipped into Sabah to secure the documents before making their way to the peninsula.
Some had secured jobs as security guards and stayed under the radar.
On the syndicates operating from Sabah, Zahid said they would continue to monitor the situation nationwide even though there had been no arrests from other states.
He said Sabah, being geographically close to neighbouring countries, might be the reason why the syndicates operated in the state, but added that “there is not a day without enforcement or operation” by the security forces.
Earlier, he said the visit here was also for him to be briefed on the barracks or police quarters in the state.
Zahid said he wanted the budget be channelled speedily to refurbish the barracks in 20 identified districts, as well as five General Operations Force batallions, marine police and the Eastern Sabah Security Command.
While he did not have the figures for expenditure, he said he hoped to see the living quarters maintained, especially for those serving in remote areas.
On National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye’s proposal that a Water Activities Safety Department be formed to prevent drowning cases, he said he hoped for a memorandum so that the cabinet could deliberate on it.