PUTRAJAYA, April 21 — The Home Ministry (KDN), through the National Registration Department, will assist victims of Sunday’s fire tragedy in Sandakan to replace their identity documents in accordance with established procedures.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the process of replacing the documents will be subject to proper verification and will not be automatically granted to all victims indiscriminately.

“The issue of ownership of personal documents is very important. At the same time, they cannot be issued arbitrarily to those who are not eligible.

“So the more accurate statement is that KDN will assist to the best of our ability, especially for those who are confirmed as citizens,” he said.

He said this at a press conference after witnessing the signing ceremony for the procurement contract of the second Multi-Purpose Mission Ship for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency here today.

Saifuddin Nasution said that under existing standard operating procedures (SOP), replacement identity documents will be issued to citizens affected by incidents such as fires and similar disasters.

“If such incidents happen, resulting in documents being lost, we will facilitate the issuance of replacement documents. But that does not mean we will simply issue them wholesale. Each case will be handled individually,” he said. 

He added that the immediate priority of the federal and state governments is to ensure the provision of temporary relief centres for all victims.

“Because the number of victims involved is more than 9,000, and over 1,000 houses in the water village were affected. The Sabah state government together with all state and federal agencies are carrying out the registration process,” he said.

About 1,000 houses were destroyed in the blzae which affected more than four hectares of the Kampung Bahagia water village. — Bernama