Two, including Sabah-based party chief, charged over fake docs syndicate

Two individuals, including the president of a Sabah-based party, were charged at a Shah Alam Magistrate's Court today over their alleged roles in a syndicate supplying fake Malaysian identification documents to those who are stateless.

In revealing this, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said he had acted on a tip-off from an unidentified non-Malaysian living abroad and instructed Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani to assemble a special unit within Bukit Aman that led to the duo's arrests on June 22 in Subang Jaya.

The two individuals charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code for committing fraud were identified as Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS) president Mohd Arshad Abdul Mualap and Mohamad Amkah Ahmad.

"I would like the media to inform everyone, particularly those who are stateless, not to fall for this syndicate.

"Arshad is someone who had registered a political party as its president [...] He is someone who had used the party for his personal interests by doing something unwanted," said Hamzah during a press conference at Bukit Aman.

All of PPRS' 22 candidates, including Arshad, who stood in the Sungai Manila state seat, had reportedly lost their bids during the last Sabah state elections in 2020.

Arshad had also previously contested and lost in Libaran and Beluran parliament, as well as Sungai Sibuga and Sugut state seats, during the 13th and 14th general elections, respectively.

Meanwhile, Hamzah stressed that only the National Registration Department is authorised to issue four types of MyKad - blue for citizens, red for permanent residents, green for employment permit holders and brown for convicts.

"For those without any status, we are reviewing (recognition). But certainly not with any cards issued by any syndicate," he added.

Specifically in Sabah, Hamzah said various temporary documents issued by the Immigration Department could only be converted into a permanent MyKad by the National Registrations Department.

He added initial documents seized following the arrests had indicated there were hundreds of victims from unidentifiable backgrounds due to their stateless nature.

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