SEPANG – A Bangladeshi boy who was found in a container at the Westport wharf in Port Klang on January 17, was sent back to his country of origin today.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the teenager, Md Ratul Islam Fahim, was repatriated to his home country via a flight to Dhaka tonight from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here, accompanied by officials from the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
At a press conference here today, Saifuddin said the 16-year-old Bangladeshi was not a stowaway (nor trafficked) but was accidentally trapped in the container when the ship docked in Bangladesh.
“When discovered (here), the boy was very weak and was nursed back to health on humanitarian grounds even though there was no document on him,” he said, adding that the teenager was treated at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang and placed under the care of the Chow Kit Foundation from January 26.
In a separate issue, Saifuddin said the Home Affairs Ministry will examine documents related to the awarding of the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) contract before taking any further action.
He said he was given a briefing recently on the NIISe project where the contract was won by technology company Iris Corporation Bhd, which is alleged to have links to the son-in-law of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to Saifuddin, the briefing was to find out if the “corporate exercise” involved complying with the terms of the contract that had been signed between the Iris subsidiary and the government.
On February 10, Iris Corp entered into a share sale agreement (SSA) with Tass Tech Technologies Sdn Bhd (Tass Tech) involving the disposal of 80 per cent equity interest in its unit, Iris Information Technology Systems Sdn Bhd (IITS) for RM70 million in cash.
IITS is the developer of NIISe which is tasked to replace the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMS) which has been used by the Immigration Department for the past 13 years, with a more modern system.
News of the divestment of the equity interest emerged a day after Muhyiddin denied that he was involved in awarding the NIISe contract to Iris Corp.
Asked if the issue required the intervention of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, he said for now, he still needed time to examine the documents. – Bernama, February 21, 2023
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