Malaysian has earned notoriety over the extent of forgery in official transactions, said a backbencher today in calling for a secret intelligence service to be established in tackling irregularities and corruption.

Debating the Ninth Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat today, Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) questioned why there are forged approved permits (AP) to import luxury cars.

The issuance of an AP must go through various process and agencies such as the Road Transport Department, Customs Department and the International Trade and Industry Ministry, he said.

He therefore reasoned that insiders must be abetting those involved in forging the document.

Mohd Said further pointed out the high probability of forgery also affecting the issuance of APs for other categories of goods.

"We not only have fake APs but also fake ICs (identity card)...just look at the population boom issue in Sabah. There are also fake marriage certificates. Malaysia is famous for forgery," the vocal backbencher said.

Secret service

At this juncture, Nasaruddin Hashim (BN-Parit) interjected and said corruption must be eliminated in all enforcement agencies to prevent problems cropping up again and that corruption should be made the country's No. 1 enemy, just like drugs.

"If corruption continues, implementation of the Ninth Malaysia Plan will fail," he noted.

However, Mohd Said retorted that such platitudes have been stated previously.

He called for a new secret intelligence service to be established, much like the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States or MI6 in United Kingdom.

"Secret service agents have to be placed in the police force, immigration, customs and even religion authorities because we have fake marriage certificates. The service should be made answerable to the internal security minister," he suggested.

"Look at Europe, their citizens buy train tickets even without conductors checking on them. In Singapore, you dare not simply throw rubbish because you know the effectiveness of enforcement and that you will be fined on the spot."

Mohd Said also said the secret service should be formed instead of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), because the former could check on the performance of all enforcement agencies rather than just police personnel.

The police force has vehemently opposed the IPCMC although Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has backed the idea.