NRD must clamp down on the issuing of false IDs

PKR says citizens do not get proper identification cards whereas foreigners breeze through the process, thanks to the National Registration Department lackadaisical attitude.

PETALING JAYA: The National Registration Department (NRD) should clamp down on the issuing of false identification cards because it could compromise national security.

“The NRD should conduct an overall operation to identify those who have been issued with the false identification cards (ICs). Those with false ICs are possibly contributing to the rise in the number of crimes,” Bukit Katil MP Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said at a press conference.

PKR Youth vice chief Nazree Yunos, meanwhile, elaborated on two separate cases.

In the first case, the NRD refused to issue documentation to a Malaysian citizen who was born in Sabah.

“She has a birth certificate stating that she is Malaysian but the NRD refused to issue an identification card for her when she applied for one.

“She had problems getting married in Negeri Sembilan but was able to do so in Malacca,” he said, adding that this was because the Malacca Religious Affairs Department only required the birth certificate to show that the person was a Malaysian.

According to Nazree, this has resulted in the woman being able to return to Sabah.

“There should be a mechanism to watch over the NRD and its integrity.  What has happened to her is equivalent to persecuting Malaysians,” Nazree who is also Negeri Sembilan’s PKR Youth chief said.

Under the current circumstances the victim is married to a Malaysian but is unable to claim citizenship.

In another case Nazree elaborated on how easily a foreigner can obtain an identification card.

“In this case, the foreigner comes into the country with a special social pass and obtain a temporary identification receipt,” he said.

The foreigner can then obtains an Malaysian identification card that identifies him as a Sabah-born and also a passport.

“It is these people who are used to vote in general elections,” Nazree said.