PSS to prevent foreigners using false documents

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) was a rebranding of the Resident Pass for foreigners, which was introduced back on May 12, 2015.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Tasks) Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Ahmad revealed that the Management of Foreign Nationals in Sabah Committee (JKPWAS) had then agreed to introduce the pass as an effort to prevent the risk of foreigners using false documents in Sabah.

“The Resident Pass was then renamed to Sabah Temporary Resident Pass (PRESS) in 2016.

“In 2019, PRESS was renamed to PSS to combine the IMM13 pass given by the Immigration Department, the Kad BurungBurung given by the Chief Minister’s Department, and the Census Card given by the National Security Council, as one,” he said.

Abd Latiff said this in his written response to Tuaran member of parliament Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau’s question here at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

In his question, Madius had asked Abd Latiff to explain the progress of the proposals made under the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the illegal immigrants in Sabah, which included the proposed introduction of a new form of digital MyKads.

In answering the question, Abd Latiff said that the JKPWAS was formed on December 3, 2014, in line with the first proposal of the RCI report.

“The solution to the issue of the management of foreigners in Sabah requires cooperation and commitment between the Federal Government and the Sabah State Government.

“This cooperation involves the issue of standardisation of documents, citizenship and negotiations with foreign representatives such as the Philippines and Indonesia,” said Abd Latiff.

He stressed that the immigrant problem requires political will and commitment from all parties.

He revealed that the results and research by the Sabah State Government will be discussed in the next JKPWAS technical meeting, which will then be brought to the main committee meeting.

After that, the JKPWAS main committee would bring the proposed mechanism to the Special Council Session of the Malaysia 1963 Agreement, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister.

Tangau also said the government has spent billions on strengthening unity among the different races but nothing seems to change.

“Why? Because the government had also created policies that are anti-unity and anti-national integration,” he said.

He reminded the august House that in 1986, the government had announced a circular, which was signed by the then Deputy Prime Minister, which prohibits Christians from using four words, namely Allah, Kaabah, Baitullah, and Solat.

According to Tangau, this contradicts the policy of Bahasa Melayu as the national language, which was introduced back in 1967.

The Tuaran MP added that the 2021 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) schedule, which has been moved to March next year, was also another example of the government’s anti-unity standing.

The fact that the Ministry of Education had decided to hold the exam on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays showed that the government had failed to take into account the religious interests of Malaysians.

He pointed out that Friday is the holy day for Muslims while Saturday is the holy day for the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) believers.

“Sunday is the holy day for the Roman Catholic, Basel, Anglican, Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), Methodist, and several other Christian denominations,” he said.

In this regard, Tangau said that the SPM schedule contradicts the national education policy and that it goes against the Rukun Negara principle.

Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said the Education Ministry will issue a new SPM 2021 schedule soon after receiving a lot of feedback from parents and SPM 2021 candidates.