Random scanning of identification cards should be conducted at all places across the country and not only at entry and exit points, said Parti Bersatu Sabah secretary-general Johnny Mositun.

He said it was because there were many cases of dubious Malaysian identity cards used by foreigners to pass themselves off as Malaysians.

Mositun, who is also the State Assembly deputy speaker, said the most recent case was reported in Johor and it involved 20 Filipinos who were caught using fake or someone else’s identification cards.

“But we have heard of cases of peddlers in Kuala Lumpur who were caught with dubious Malaysian identity cards too. That is why the Immigration Department and National Registration Department must also conduct random checks at these places.

“The media has also reported that some of those using dubious Malaysian identity cards have even gotten jobs as security guards. We must ensure that this does not happen again,” he said in a statement here today.

Mositun said this in response to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s assurance that steps were being taken to detect holders of fake ID cards at all entry and exit points, particularly at airports.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the police headquarters here on Monday, Zahid said he had ordered the Immigration and National Registration Departments to instruct their officers at all entry and exit points to carry out random scanning of identification cards to see if they were authentic or fake.

According to Mositun, weeding out dubious holders of identification cards was also one the objectives of Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah and was something demanded by genuine Sabahans.

- Bernama