PUTRAJAYA, May 16 — Most cases involving the use of fake identification documents are detected when the holder reaches the age of 12 or during the transition from MyKid to MyKad, says Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said there were cases where couples declare their adopted children to the National Registration Department (JPN) as their biological kids.
“When the child is young, we cannot distinguish, but when they turn 12 and must make a MyKad, we can sometimes spot the difference.
“There are cases detected when they are older and caught by the Immigration Department at the country’s entry points. When we check the passport, we become suspicious, and upon verification, the records do not match,” he told the media after attending the JPN Excellent Service Award Ceremony here today.
Saifuddin Nasution said in such situations, the couple or individual involved is advised to re-register the birth via the proper legal channels.
“Usually, when we encounter such cases, we do not immediately punish them. Instead, we advise them to re-register and do the right thing according to legal procedures. In Islam, it is related to lineage.
“The moment we know that the document is not in our records, it means it is fake. Our team from the Menyemai Kasih Rakyat Programme will meet them and help them obtain legal identification documents,” he said.
When asked if the government will improve the security features of the MyKad, he said the current features are sufficient.
“In terms of physical security, it is adequate, but the step we will take is to publicise to the community not to get involved in such situations (using fake MyKad).
“If they adopt a child, they should go through the standard adoption process,” he said, adding that his ministry and JPN regularly conduct awareness campaigns on the misuse and illegal possession of identification documents.
JPN director-general Badrul Hisham Alias said his department enforces measures to curb the use of fake MyKad.
“We do not deny that from time to time, we encounter such cases, and most of our cases today involve old cases under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, where parents register a child who is not their biological child as their own.
“This can be detected when the child turns 12, and we can see that their facial features do not match those of the parents,” he said.
He said in the first four months of this year, JPN detected 21 cases involving the use of fake identity cards through 230 operations nationwide.
— Bernama
