WHY MYKAD CHANGE AT THE IMMIGRATION?

KOTA KINABALU: DAP Tanjung Aru has queried the reason for the changing of new MyKad being done at the Immigration Department in the Federal Administrative Complex here instead of the National Registration Department.

Its Chief, Dato David Chong Ket Sui, said he had received a report that the process to change to the new MyKad and address could be done up to two hours only.

"But it is being done at the Immigration Department, which is only handling passport and work pass. Since when did the Immigration Department also handle the job of the National Registration Department?" he asked.

In a statement Wednesday, Chong said he received information that most of those who were changing their MyKad and address were from Pulau Gaya, Telipok, Menggatal and Karambunai.

"Most of these people are from the Bajau Filipino community who are changing their address to Kota Kinabalu and Sembulan," he said, adding the move was allegedly facilitated by "agents" offering money ranging from RM100 to RM200 for them to change their address in their MyKad and in the process moved their voting constituency.

He said all they had to do was to select areas such as Karamunsing, Kampung Air and Sinsuran as their new address even though they were not residing in these places.

Chong believed the move had something to do with the fact that the Barisan Nasional (BN) had found out that it would be difficult for them to win Chinese majority constituencies such as Kota Kinabalu, which has about 90 per cent Chinese voters.

"Therefore, the BN is moving voters from other constituencies to the Chinese majority constituency to change the demography and give them a chance to win in the coming election," he claimed.

According to him, the BN needed at least 4,000 voters to offset the Chinese votes in Kota Kinabalu, which in the last general election had voted in a candidate from DAP.

Meanwhile, Chong said since the process to change the address and in the MyKad now was so easy and quick, he urged those who had to take a long journey back to cast their vote to change their address in their Identity Card so that their polling centre could be nearer.

"Those who always complained about the trouble for them to go back to far away constituencies like Kudat or Sandakan should take the opportunity to change their address in their MyKad, which only takes up to two hours now," he said.

Chong presumed that the change of voting constituency in the electoral roll is being done together with the change of address in the MyKad at the Immigration Department.

It had been reported that BN leaders from Sepanggar parliamentary constituency had also complained about the "exercise" to move voters from the constituency to neighbouring Kota Kinabalu parliamentary constituency.