In Malaysia, where 'SECURITY' guards have CRIMINAL RECORDS

LAST month, a visit to the National Registration Department (NRD) had become compulsory. The condition of the MyKad had already been questioned twice – once by immigration authorities at Kota Kinabalu airport and the second by a bank officer in Kuala Lumpur.

The wear and tear over the years had taken its toll and to a point, it became embarrassing to produce the tattered document when requested to do so.

To get the replacement, it took less than 10 minutes at the NRD office in Petaling Jaya. Get a number, wait your turn, pay RM10 and then get your photograph taken. "Come back in two weeks to collect your new card," said the officer.

After two weeks, there was a spanking new MyKad. It speaks volumes of the efficiency and change that has taken place. This is where the praise has to end. Sitting through the tail-end of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants in Sabah, there were jaw-dropping moments when witnesses took the witness stand.

From being called to a coffee shop and given blue identity cards and having voted in consecutive elections, foreigners gave detailed accounts of how they became "citizens" overnight.

Just when we thought such malpractices were confined to Sabah, the recent spate of robberies by security guards gave yet another frightening scenario.

Fake MyKads had been used to seek employment in the security services sector by foreigners which reflects the lackadaisical attitude adopted by some security firms.

We lesser mortals have no way of knowing if the guards looking after our children had records for sexual offences.

Neither does anyone know if those with criminal records are put in charge of protecting large sums of money.

The authorities have pinned the blame on security firms pushing the onus on the firms to recruit guards with clean records.

While banks and other financial institutions are willing to invest in gadgets to read and verify the MyKad, many security firms seem reluctant to do the same.

That gadget is the fastest and surest way to authenticate the MyKad and why the firms have not done so is unexplainable. But there may be a reason. If such checks are carried out, more than 10% of the guards would not have cleared the first hurdle.

This is because of the admission of the umbrella body for the security firms which stated that at least 30,000 of the more than 220,000 guards are illegal immigrants, the stark truth hits you in the face.

While the home minister goes around threatening to close newspapers because its reporters are stating the truth, little or nothing has been done to purge the system of guards without proper documentation.

However, the root of the problem lies with issuance of licences for security firms. Has action been not forthcoming because of the "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" syndrome that has afflicted our society?

There are about 750 companies, almost all of whom are owned by retired senior officers from the armed forces, police officers and the Home Ministry. Hence, there is hesitancy in enforcement of the laws.

In many residential areas, security guards have been employed to patrol the streets. Is there a possibility that one of them may one day rob you and your family?

The answer is yes and probabilities are high. With security firms hiring all and sundry, what makes you think they have not hired someone with a criminal record?

With so many guards in so many neighbourhoods, the demand has been overwhelming. Security firms have to provide the manpower because it means an addition to the bottom line. With no compulsion to check or carry out vetting, the man in the guard's uniform could have been a robber or even a murderer!

As one who pays for their services, it becomes your responsibility to demand from the company details of the guards in your area and a document stating that they have clean records. Have you done it? Shouldn't you tell the guru besar of the school your children are studying to do the same?

The Sundaily