Foreign terrorist suspects or militant group sympathisers have easy access to forged Malaysian identity cards, which can cost as low as RM350, according to a report.

The New Straits Times reported that these cheap forged documents had allowed suspected terrorists, including from the Philippines, to reach Sabah and eventually Peninsular Malaysia.

Some of these individuals used such documents to secure jobs, including positions as security guards.

The report pointed to one Filipino suspect, identified only as Dahwan, 22, who bought a forged MyKad in Sabah for RM1,000.

Another Filipino, Nurhan Sahi Hakim, 33, who was charged with a terror offence, had admitted to the court that he had bought a forged MyKad for just RM350.

Southeast Asia regional director for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, Andrin Raj, was reported as saying that international terror groups had once regarded Malaysia as the "centre" for securing fake ID papers.

"Terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah, in the past had established Malaysia as the 'centre' for securing fake documentation in Southeast Asia," he said.

In view of this, Andrin said there was a need to look into possible corruption of local officials

"About 15 years ago, when I was working for the Finnish embassy, an African individual came to apply for a visa.

"I was asked to verify his visa approval from Malaysia. We found a fake approval stamp on his passport.

"There was also a case where an Afghan man entered Malaysia using a fake Spanish passport. He walked through the Immigration passport control with ease.

"He bought the passport for US$10,000 (RM39,399) and even knew which passport control lines to walk through in Pakistan and Malaysia," he said.

Early this month, several news reports suggested that 13 people were arrested in Sandakan and Tawau over suspicions of involvement in a MyKad forging syndicate.

They were reportedly charging Indonesians and Filipinos between RM300 and RM6,000 per document, while Pakistanis had to pay between RM30,000 and RM50,000.