> Another police report on Sabah illegals

A restaurant owner in Sabah has lodged a third police report in as many years against the rampant abuse of Malaysian personal documents by ‘illegal' immigrants.

Kamaruddin B Omar, 49, originally from Selangor, lodged his third report yesterday that at the Karamunsing police station in Kota Kinabalu.

His main complaint was on the increase in the number of illegal workers, especially from India, who had obtained Malaysian personal documents illegally.

His first two reports on the same subject were made at the Telupid and Beluran police stations respectively, at the end of 2006.

Kamaruddin is urging the authorities to use his police report as a basis to conduct a thorough probe against those immigrants who became Malaysians illegally.

He also wants action to be taken against those who facilitate these foreigners in obtaining the illegal Malaysian documents.

In his report, Kamaruddin cited the illegal methods used - based on his personal experience and observation - for these foreigners to obtain Malaysian documents.

He said that they very often use the process of late registration of births and/or false statutory declarations and using the birth certificates of deceased Malaysians to obtain the MyKad for citizens.

He also wants the authorities to seek the assistance of the Sabah Indian Muslim Chamber of Commerce in Kota Kinabalu in the probe against illegal immigrants becoming Malaysians through blatant falsehoods.

"I lodged the police report so that the police, National Registration Department, Immigration Department and the Home Affairs Minister will conduct investigations and arrest all the Indian immigrants and other illegal immigrants who have obtained ICs illegally," said Kamaruddin.

"I was threatened with bodily harm after my first two police reports and shifted my business to Lahad Datu because there were too many illegals in Telupid."

Denied permanent resident status

Kamaruddin has been in the state since 1972, and is married to a Sabahan.

He has been "denied permanent resident status", and has to exit the state every three months and re-enter to continue his business.

Sabah has a wide network of Muslim restaurants, many operating 24 hours, and generally run by Muslims from India.

Kamaruddin was accompanied to the police station by anti-immigration activist Dr Chong Eng Leong, a former senior PBS supreme council member, who has been involved in court battles over illegal immigrants.

He had left the party after it re-joined the ruling Barisan Nasional and allegedly took a softer line on the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Also on hand to lend support was another anti-immigration activist, Abdul Mutalib B Mohamed, who runs a blog and has also previously written six books - the subject of police reports as well and court cases - on the issuance of Malaysian personal documents illegally in Sabah. He has another two books pending on the same subject.

"Kamaruddin is frustrated by the fact that despite being Malaysian and married to a Sabahan, he was unable to obtain permanent residence status in the state while he saw with his own eyes how foreigners from India were issued with MyKads," said Mutalib.

Kamaruddin's latest police report follows an incident on Dec 13 when he found the locks to his restaurant in Lahad Datu had been changed without notice by the owner of the premises and he was denied entry.

He believed the incident was linked to his renewed exposure of the illegal issuance of Malaysian personal documents in Mutalib's blogsite on Dec 11 - Malaysiakini.