KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has hailed the Home Ministry’s move to introduce a digital MyKad to end the fake identification card (IC) problem in Malaysia.
However, it said the ministry should consider issuing special ICs just for Sabahans.
SAPP Youth chief Jamain Sarudin said fake MyKad have been a long-standing problem in the state.
“This became an issue at the time of the alleged Projek IC – during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era in the 1990s – which resulted in the existence of dubious MyKad in the hands of illegal immigrants.”
Jamain said the digital version will not be able to solve the Projek IC issue totally, and, therefore, a “Sabah IC” must be created and given to genuine Sabah folk.
“It is not to replace the MyKad, but instead act as a guarantee and protection for genuine Sabahans.
“Sabah is known to have hundreds of thousands of foreigners, and a portion of them have come to Sabah illegally without any form of identification.
“This problem has been ongoing for decades with no solution.”
He said SAPP had proposed the Sabah IC concept in 2012 as a way to end the illegal immigrant problem in the state.
According to a 2013 report by the royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah, IC issuances are rampant and have drastically changed racial demographics in the state.
“Dubious MyKad holders are found in the electoral roll and are known as ‘bogus voters’,” Jamain said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin had yesterday proposed the use of a digital MyKad to end the fake IC problem in the country.
He had warned fake MyKad owners to surrender themselves or return to their countries of origin before the digital version is introduced, promising that authorities will come down hard on those who refuse. – The Vibes, March 19, 2021
