KOTA KINABALU: The authorities are being urged to immediately solve the issue of undocumented people or statelessness in Sabah following the alleged sale of the proposed foreigners’ cards to these communities here.

       The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Head of Sabah office, Jasmih Slamat, said they recently received information about the alleged sales of these cards, from someone claiming to have been offered these cards.

       He said the person had gone to Suhakam to ask whether these documents were real and whether undocumented people can start purchasing them now.

       "So this is a very serious matter and we do not want these people to be cheated," he said after a briefing with the media here, Tuesday (April 19).

       Jasmih said the undocumented people in Sabah were desperate for documentation, for some sort of recognition as human beings and they would sell what they could to purchase these cards.

       "This is why the authorities need to come up with a solution to this matter as soon as possible, to prevent abuse and scammers from taking advantage of the situation," he said.

       From some of the alleged receipts and terms of sales seen, which were said to have been provided by a source, these cards called the 'Kad Pendaftaran Sementara' or temporary registration cards, were divided into two categories.

       The first was for the undocumented and stateless people where a single card cost RM2,500. For a husband and wife package, the cards cost RM4,000 whereas children under the ages of 12 could get theirs for free.

       Payment via instalments was also provided.

       The second category allegedly was for IMM13 holders, kad burung-burung, census or sijil banci as well as those with visa and permits.

       Each card was purportedly sold for RM2,000 for an individual and for the couple’s package, the price was RM3,500.

       Recently, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin had said that the government was looking at issuing special foreigners cards for foreigners who have been in Sabah for decades to solve the long-standing stateless issue here.

       However, this proposal had to be put off for the time being following an uproar from many Sabahans and local leaders as well as politicians, fearing that the issuance of these cards would lead to citizenship.

       Jasmih said this was a worrying development, more so that these cards were allegedly offered and issued by a well-known non-governmental organisation also focusing on humanitarian issues.

       He said Suhakam had informed the police about this matter.

       “We advise those who have paid for these cards to lodge police reports but as they are undocumented, they might not go to the cops for fear of being arrested instead,” he said.

       Efforts are being made to get a response from the state police.

       Meanwhile, earlier in the briefing, Suhakam Commissioner and Vice Chairman, Jerald Joseph said issues pertaining to statelessness made up about half of the total complaints and issues brought to Suhakam’s attention between 2017 and 2021.

       "From the total 4,510 complaints received nationwide during this period, a total of 1,036 are linked to statelessness and citizenship woes," he said.

       He said by these statistics alone, it was clear that the problem could not be delayed further, especially in Sabah.

       Jerald called upon politicians and state authorities to seriously look into this matter and come up with a feasible solution as soon as possible.

       He said on humanitarian grounds, no human should be left without an identity or nationality.

       He said no human should be denied the basic human right to having a country to call home, more so if they had been in one place for decades and generations.

       "Without proper documentation, these people cannot send their children to school, they cannot get healthcare or welfare aid, nor can they find jobs with salaries that pay reasonably, like those with the right documents," Jerald said.