Dept unaware police report on lost MyKad not accepted
Published on: Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Many Sabahans and Sarawakians who have lost their MyKad while in the peninsula during short trips have been unable to board their flights home immediately using the copy of their police report, but the Immigration bosses seem to be unaware about their predicament, Daily Express can confirm. When asked why a copy of the police report on the lost Mykad is not entertained, Immigration Department Director-General Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali, said he was not aware of any such ruling. He said the provision of a police report to an immigration officer would suffice in any case of losing the Malaysian identity card (MyKad) when travelling.
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"When travellers, particularly Sabahans and Sarawakians returning from Peninsula had lost their MyKads (while in KL) and are detained by immigration officers during clearance, they should be prepared to have relevant documents such as police report."For Malaysian it is a must to have MyKad and if in case they lose it during their travelling, they should have a police report as proof that they lost their identity card. A copy of that police report is good enough to be shown to the immigration officers," he said, here, recently.Referring to an incident that took place at KLIA and KKIA, recently, State Immigration Director Musa Sulaiman said: "The person can actually enter the State provided he had evidence (copy of police report) as proof.
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"I am not aware of the incident (where the West Malaysian with PR status was detained briefly by State Immigration officers for having only a copy of the police report). But I will have to review this matter as it was not reported to me," Musa said. However, the response contradicts with what was happening on the ground both at the KLIA1 and KKIA.
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"Many Sabahans and Sarawakians have been forced to postpone their flights home unless they had a new Mykad issued by the UTC in Kajang, a short distance from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, or a document issued by the JPN counter located at KLIA 2," said a lady immigration officer at KLIA1. She admitted that at most times the passengers are forced to put up an extra night and buy a new air ticket because by the time they show up at the exit gate to board their aircraft, it was already too late to even get the JPN temporary cert from KLIA2. She said there used to be a JPN counter at KLIA1 but it was relocated to KLIA2. She sympathised with the predicament of the travellers, some of whom have been pregnant mothers. She also lamented the extra expenses that would need to be incurred in postponing the flight in terms of accommodation, travel and getting a new ticket/s which by then would be very expensive because it is considered last-minute purchase. In that incident in late March, the passenger was put in a difficult position when he lost his Mykad a few hours before he was supposed to fly back to the State.He managed to obtain a police report about the loss which he showed to Immigration officers and the airline's ground staff at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Initially, he was not allowed to board the aircraft but the immigration staff at KLIA softened their stand when he said that he was from the media and would highlight the matter as tantamount to discrimination against Sabahans and Sarawakians by the department.The staff then allowed him to proceed but cautioned to be prepared to be detained upon arrival at KKIA. Nevertheless, she said she would inform Immigration in KK about the matter. As it turned out, when he landed at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport at around 10pm, the Department's officers on duty refused to give him clearance to enter the State Capital.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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