Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) deputy president Dr Maximus Ongkili today pledged to get to the bottom of the issuance of dubious MyKads in the state.

biomalaysia 2008 071008 maximus ongkili He said BN component parties in Sabah will compile a list of all the people who have been “mistakenly downgraded” in their citizenship status.

Ongkili, who is also the science, technology and innovation minister added that National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Shafie Apdal and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Bernard Dompok will assist him “until a proper solution is found”.

“I know the government is serious in sorting the matter out,” he said after launching the 2008 BioMalaysia conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Time to get it sorted out

Besides PBS, two other Sabah-based parties, Upko and the Liberal Democratic Party, will compile all the cases reported to them before submitting them to the National Registration Department (NRD) for further action, explained Ongkili.

He however said most of the cases referred to his party were caused by “technical problems”.

eric majimbun mykad The issuance of dubious MyKads came to light after Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) parliamentarian Eric Majimbun ( left ) discovered that he shared the same surname and address in a MyKad allegedly belonging to a Filipino illegal immigrant .

"How is it possible that a Malaysian who has been here for years is denied a MyKad and citizenship and yet there are many cases of foreigners obtaining MyKads through dubious means?" Majimbun had asked.

In addition, there are also a number of cases of Malaysians born in Sabah but were issued with red IC cards, where they were relegated to permanent resident status and stripped of their right to vote.

Ongkili said the MyKad issue in Sabah was not a new one and that PBS had previously submitted a memorandum to the government on the matter.

“We have also urged the NRD to make sure that the issue does not persist,” he said, claiming that the party has been pursuing the matter for the past 15 years.

“We have been talking about it in the cabinet for a long time. It is time to sort this matter out.”