152. forged IC

RCI told at least one forged IC found every two weeks

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By Mohd Farhan Darwis

The Sabah National Registration Department discovers at least one forged identity card every two weeks.
Its director, Ismail Ahmad, told the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah identity card forgery is widespread in the state.
"I don't remember the exact numbers, but almost every two weeks there will be cases of people being caught with forged identity cards," he said at the Kota Kinabalu court complex.
However, Ismail said, it is impossible to illegally obtain a genuine identity card now.
"I guarantee that there is no way it can happen, the work is all computerised now," he said.
He said all blue identity card applicants must have birth certificates to prove their citizenship.
Ismail told the RCI the state’s problems with genuine identity cards began in 1978, when genuine blue identity cards were illegally obtained from the NRD.
He said other than birth certificates, the NRD also accepted statutory declarations as a valid document of evidence that the applicant was born in Sabah.
He noted that at that time many Sabahans in the interior areas did not have birth certificates.
“So we accepted declarations signed by village heads and verified by the district officer.
However, the practice was stopped in 1987 when it was discovered there was abuse of power.
Ismail told the RCI that blue identity cards with expiry dates on them being circulated on the Internet were in fact green cards or temporary residence cards.
He told the RCI that for a time, the colour of the MyKad was the same blue.
“But all the cards had markers on them to indicate the type of card they were,” he said.
However, Ismail said, this caused confusion and the department made the temporary residence card green, the permanent resident card red and blue was only for citizens.