33. Statutory Declarations accepted in IC applications – former NRD director

Statutory Declarations accepted in IC applications – former NRD director

by Nancy Lai. Posted on January 18, 2013, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: Statutory Declarations are still accepted by the National Registration Department (NRD) as supporting documents in the application for identity cards, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah heard yesterday.
Former Sabah NRD director Datuk Abdul Rauf Sani said this was also practised when he was heading the department in the state from 1990 to 1992.
This was because many Sabahans, especially those in remote areas of the state like Ulu Pensiangan as well as Sungai Terian and Sungai Buayan, did not have any identification documents, he explained.
To the question from RCI panel chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong if he was aware that there was a difference in law pertaining to late registration process between Sabah and Sarawak, Abdul Rauf replied in the affirmative, saying it required the involvement of a magistrate to validate the document.
Shim then asked: “Was it done in your time?”
Abdul Rauf said: “No.”
Asked why not, the former ISA detainee explained that because there were many Sabahans, especially those in the remote areas, who did not have any identification documents; they could not apply for an identity card.
“Who is willing to ask these people to travel all the way to the state capital to get a magistrate’s validation? Yes, there is the law but we must act according to what our heart tells us because if we go according to the law, all these people will not get their identity cards,” he said.
“These people are innocent; why should we punish them?” he asked.
“So NRD relied solely on the Statutory Declarations? On what basis? Is there a provision of law that you relied on?” asked Shim.
To that, Abdul Rauf replied: “Yes, the Statutory Declarations, the law of the heart, and no provision.”
When asked who gave him the authority to rely on the Statutory Declarations, Abdul Rauf said he had never received any instruction as it had been in practice even before he was posted to Sabah.
RCI Commissioner Tan Sri Herman Luping also asked him who had directed him to allow the use of Statutory Declarations signed by the Native Chiefs or Village Elders.
Abdul Rauf said it was his directive to accept the document in the process of identity card application.
“You said you went to see the Chief Minister at that time to inform him about the issue and he agreed to it?” Luping asked.
Abdul Rauf replied: “Yes. I confided in Pairin that this however has a loophole as anyone can go and get a Statutory Declarations validated by a Native Chief.”
Luping then asked whether there was the danger of illegal immigrants seeking out the Native Chief or Village Elder to get the Statutory Declarations and if there was a way for the NRD to differentiate between genuine Malaysians and illegal immigrants.
To that, Abdul Rauf said: “Like I said earlier, Sabahans living in remote areas have the same status as illegal immigrants as they also do not have any identification documents. So what is the difference between them and foreigners?
“In the application process, we looked at the applicant’s name. For example, an applicant from Ulu Pensiangan should have a Murut sounding name,” he said, adding that NRD could not determine a person’s ethnicity from a photograph, so an interview would be carried out.”
http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/01/18/statutory-declarations-accepted-in-ic-applications-former-nrd-director/