INDIAN IMMIGRANT SAYS GOT BLUE IC

By : BOO SU-LYN

KOTA KINABALU : An Indian immigrant told the royal inquiry on illegal immigrants here today that he received a blue identity card without providing any supporting documents, but only with a false application form filled by a National Registration Department (NRD) officer.

Nasir Yusof (right), who was born in Tamil Nadu, India, testified today that he obtained the blue identity card from the NRD Kota Marudu office in Kudat in 1988, just five years after arriving in Sabah in 1983.

“Who told you to write (that you were born in) Tuaran (on the application form)?” asked Sabah Law Association president Datuk John Sikayun, who was holding a watching brief at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) today.

“He already wrote it down — the JPN officer at Kota Marudu,” replied Nasir, referring to the NRD by its Malay acronym.

Nasir, 50, said that he paid RM12 and received the blue identity card two months later.

“I did not pay anyone else,” he said.

According to the Citizenship Rules 1964, people who want to apply to be a Malaysian citizen by naturalisation must become a permanent resident for more than 12 years and have been in Malaysia for more than 10 years.

Nasir said he registered as a voter in 1991 and has voted three times since, including in the Sepanggar parliamentary constituency.

“The one I voted for lost. It was a PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) YB, but (the candidate) lost,” he said, as the gallery burst into laughter.

Nasir said he currently operates a business obtaining work permits for Indian migrant workers for 20 employers.

He said that he charged a service fee of RM100 per worker.

Nasir added that about 100 Indian immigrants were also with him at the Kota Marudu NRD office when he applied for the blue identity card.

He said that not all of their places of birth were stated as Tuaran in their application forms.

“He (the NRD officer) was the one who wrote it as we could not write in Bahasa Malaysia,” said Nasir.

Nasir also denied bloggers’ allegations that he obtained identity cards for Indian immigrants.

“Those blogs are 100 per cent defamatory,” he stressed.

Nasir said that he gave up his Indian passport and obtained a Malaysian passport after receiving his blue identity card.

“I don’t have Indian citizenship (anymore). I never voted in India. I can only vote here,” said Nasir, who wore a white long-sleeved shirt.

He then recited the Rukunegara, albeit with some mistakes.

Other Pakistani and Indian immigrants have testified recently about obtaining blue identity cards, either from runners or from the NRD directly  within just a few years of arriving in Sabah.

An Indian immigrant told the RCI yesterday that he received a blue identity card from the NRD after staying in Sabah for six years, by just producing a statutory declaration that wrongly stated his place of birth as Papar.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s longest serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called 'Project IC', in which citizenship was allegedly given to immigrants in exchange for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, denied to the RCI the existence of “Project IC”.

Dr Mahathir told a press conference recently that foreigners in Sabah had indeed received citizenship, but stressed that it was 'within the law'.

MOHIDIN BATCHA AKUI DIRINYA PATI?

Saudara Pengarang,

KEPADA pembaca  Sabahkini.net dan portal berita yang lain, Mohidin Batcha Bin Shariff dengan no Mykad 520710-12-5027 tidak asing lagi. Ramai ada menyuarakan keraguan yang munasabah tentang suspek di atas. Bercakap kepada RCI, beliau mengaku bahawa ramai pendatang menerima IC Projek selain beliau turut mengaku beliau membantu ramai orang mendapatkan kad pengenalan.

Ternyata apa yang disuarakan sebelum ini menerusi Sabahkini.net semuanya benar belaka. Sekarang kita harus sedar kepentingan portal Sabahkini.net kepada kita. Syabas dan tahniah kepada mereka yang mendedahkan kebenaran.

Turut dinyatakan dalam artikel tersebut ialah Kassim Bin Aziz yang menjadi saksi utama dalam suspek jual beli IC yang dikenali amat berbahaya iaitu Nasir Bin Yusof seperti yang pernah didedahkan oleh ramai orang.

Kepada mereka yang belum mengenali Batcha, anda mungkin sekali boleh melayari artikel Sabahkini.net di google bertajuk 'Mustaffa Dan Batcha, Penjenayah Di Sabah?' iaitu bagaimana  dua ustaz pendatang bersama Presiden DPPIMS yang mempertahankan suspek ini seperti dalam artikel ini 'Fitnah Terhadap MadrasahAl-Hidayah'.

Mari kita berfikir sejenak, mengapa mereka takut di hadapan RCI jika mereka tidak membuat sebarang salah? RCI harus menarik balik kerakyatan Batcha dan hanya memberikan status penduduk tetap.

Sekian,

PEMBACA SETIA ANTI PANDIKUTI

WARGA ASING GUNA IC TIDAK DITUNTUT?

         

Oleh :  ZULAIKHA ZULKIFLI

           

NAIB Presiden PAS, Datuk Mahfuz Omar menuntut penjelasan Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) serta Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) berhubung surat yang didakwa mengarahkan untuk menghantar kad pengenalan yang tidak dituntut ke Sabah.

"Saya bimbang kad pengenalan yang mereka kata hendak dilupuskan ini diberi kepada warga asing yang akan membenarkan mereka mengundi pada pilihan raya," katanya dalam sidang media di ibu pejabat PAS hari ini.

Beliau mendakwa beliau dimaklumkan mengenai perkara itu melalui satu surat arahan yang didakwa dikeluarkan pengarah bahagian kad pengenalan JPN kepada semua pengarah negeri dan daerah di seluruh negara.

Beliau mendakwa surat bertarikh 14 Disember itu mengarahkan agar kad pengenalan serta Mykid yang tidak dituntut dalam masa 18 bulan dihantar melalui pos ke Keningau, Sabah.

Mahfuz yang membacakan kandungan surat berkenaan berkata, kad pengenalan dan Mykid tersebut diarahkan untuk dihantar ke situ kerana juruaudit terbabit didakwa berada di lokasi tersebut untuk mengemaskini status dokumen berkenaan.

Dalam sidang medianya hari ini, Mahfuz juga mendakwa surat berkenaan juga menyebut bahawa dokumen berkenaan seterusnya akan dihantar ke JPN Putrajaya.

"Saya nak tahu sejauh mana dan berapa jumlah kad pengenalan yang tidak dituntut ini. Kerajaan perlu umumkan kerana mereka sudah pun kumpul (kad pengenalan dan Mykid).

"Saya juga nak minta penjelasan bila dan di mana ia dilupuskan," kata MP Pokok Sena itu lagi. PAS bimbang warga asing guna IC tidak dituntut.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE WITHOUT RECORD IN NRD

RECENTLY the KK MP Office had received quite a number of cases where the married couples found even though they were married officially and being issued with the marriage certificate but unfortunately their marriage status were not recorded in the computer and record book of the National Registration Department (NRD).

This had caused much complication and adverse effect especially in legal matters and children’s documentation, schooling and issuance of MyCard.

This is not fair to the married couple especially when one of them is a foreigner. In Sabah marrying a foreigner is very common, like the Pilipino, Indonesian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thais, and Taiwanese.

The complication in not having a valid marriage certificates is serious, and sometimes this can caused rejection in work permit, stay permit, and can affect the future of the children.

Usually the couple was registered as married with the NRD, and their marriage certificate was being witnessed by two witnesses, signed and endorsed by the registrar.

The problem came when it was found out that the marriage was not even registered in the record of the registration office. It is not valid when there is no record found. Some of these married couples only found out recently that their marriages are not valid. This seems like a joke.

The KK MP Hiew King Cheu when he heard the complaints from these couples, he had made several calls to enquire and found out what they said are true. He checked their marriage certificates and it looked okay to him.

Hiew said this type of incidents should not have happened and it is due to human error and on other reason that these certificates are not registered. He said the NRD should be more careful on this matter because the marriage certificate is an important piece of legal document.

Hiew advices the married couple to check with the NRD office to double check whether their marriage certificates are properly registered and in the record.

We cannot afford to have problems when we want to use the certificate for some important documentation, for example, children’s schooling, medical treatment, citizenship and permanent stay application, and even the deceased estate. Don’t wait until you are stuck and encountered difficulties.

Hiew said those who are authorized to witness and register marriages to be very careful in registering the newly weds, and must ensure all records and information are forwarded to the NRD for recording and filing.