NRD: Only one mistaken deportation case in Sabah
Only one case involving the accidental deportation of a Malaysian was recorded in Sabah during operations against undocumented migrants, National Registration Department (NRD) director-general Azizan Ayob said Friday, adding that the department was not involved in deportation exercises.
"To avoid a recurrence of accidental deportation, enforcement agencies in Sabah have agreed to scrutinise the cases more carefully," he said in a written response to questions sent by malaysiakini in February.
No details were given on the case, but it could be the one highlighted in the media last September, involving a Sabah minor who was allegedly raped by policemen in a detention camp while awaiting deportation.
The girl was initially thought to be a Filipina but was later confirmed to be Malaysian.
Only one case involving the accidental deportation of a Malaysian was recorded in Sabah during operations against undocumented migrants, National Registration Department (NRD) director-general Azizan Ayob said Friday, adding that the department was not involved in deportation exercises.
"To avoid a recurrence of accidental deportation, enforcement agencies in Sabah have agreed to scrutinise the cases more carefully," he said in a written response to questions sent by malaysiakini in February.
No details were given on the case, but it could be the one highlighted in the media last September, involving a Sabah minor who was allegedly raped by policemen in a detention camp while awaiting deportation.
The girl was initially thought to be a Filipina but was later confirmed to be Malaysian.
Her alleged rape, together with several claims by Filipino deportees of mistreatment by Malaysian authorities, sparked off a diplomatic row between Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
In February, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia's (Suhakam) Sabah office claimed there were several cases of mistaken deportation following visits to immigration detention camps and police lock-ups in the state.
Kota Kinabalu-based Suhakam commissioner Simon Sipaun (photo) related several instances where Malaysians were mistakenly deported after they failed to produce valid identification papers - identity cards and birth certificates.
Two cases confirmed
Contacted today, an officer from Suhakam office in Kota Kinabalu confirmed with malaysiakini that there were two more of such cases.
One involved a 34-year-old security guard and his six-year-old son who were deported twice last year, first to Indonesia in January and then to the Philippines.
"He had contacted our office here while still in the Philippines. He applied for an identity card upon returning to Sabah but the state NRD record showed that his birth certificate was used by someone else for a similar application.
"Subsequently, repeated attempts to apply for an identity card landed him in trouble with the police instead," related the officer, who declined to be identified.
The other case involved an odd-job worker who had migrated to Sabah from Terengganu almost 20 years ago, but had lost his papers.
"When we spoke to him, the man seemed to be of unsound mind, and we could not ascertain exactly how he lost them," he added.
Mobile units
To facilitate easy access to register births, deaths and identity card applications, NRD offices have been set up in each district, said Azizan.
However, he noted that even so, many who lived in the interior and on the islands had not bother to register their names.
He said it could be due to communication and transportation problems, poverty, illiteracy and the attitude of not giving importance to documents.
"As a result, there are families where the grandfather, son, daughter and grandchildren are without valid documentation."
To reach those in the interior, mobile operations held jointly with the police, district offices and local leaders have been underway since 2000, issuing birth certificates and temporary identity card receipts immediately, Azizan said.
"Since then, 16,230 birth certificates and 14,204 identity cards have been issued in Sabah," he said, adding that five mobile units with 71 staff were approved last July to handle documentation in the state as one of the long-term solutions.
However, Azizan revealed, the department also faces difficulty in proving the citizenship status, and the date and place of birth due to the failure to establish clear evidence during the investigation and interview.
He said there have been fraudulent cases where village heads and local leaders had even attempted to register foreigners by claiming that they are their own children.
No MyKad for foreigners
On the MyKad reportedly found by police last July on a foreigner who produced it as proof of citizenship, Azizan denied that it was ever issued to illegal immigrants in Sabah.
"It is very difficult for anyone to issue MyKad through deception or by breaching the department's security measures.
"All the MyKads issued to date were to those entitled under the Federal Constitution and the National Registration Act and its regulations," he added.
