KOTA KINABALU: A probe is being conducted following allegations that special identification cards are being sold to unsuspecting foreigners in Sabah.

       Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah said they recently received information on the matter and that action was being taken.

       “Special Branch officers are on it,” he said yesterday.

       He, however, did not disclose details of the investigation, citing security concerns, among other reasons.

       The matter was recently brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), as some who were made aware of the sale of these cards known as Kad Pendaftaran Sementara or temporary registration cards, are asking whether they are authentic.

       There is a batch of these cards which looks slightly like the Malaysian driving licence, allegedly printed out and processed, ready for customers who have made payments.

       Suhakam’s head of Sabah office Jasmih Slamat said someone had gone to Suhakam to ask whether these documents were real and whether undocumented people could buy them.

       “This is a very serious matter and we do not want these people to be cheated,” he said.

       Jasmih said there were people in Sabah who were desperate for official papers and they would sell whatever they could to purchase these cards.

       He said some of the alleged receipts and terms of sale provided by sources showed that the price to get Kad Pendaftaran Sementara was divided into two categories.

       The first is for illegals and stateless people where a single card costs RM2,500. For a husband and wife package, the cards cost RM4,000 whereas children under the age of 12 can get it for free.

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

       Each card is purportedly sold for RM2,000 for an individual and for the couple’s package, the price is RM3,500. Instalment basis is also purportedly provided.

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

       He said Suhakam had informed the police about this matter.

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