.jpg "Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali speaks during a press conference at the Immigration Department in Putrajaya June 1, 2018. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Zuraneeza Zulkifli")
KOTA KINABALU, Oct 15 — The Immigration Department of Malaysia is in talks with the Sabah state government to look into the best way of managing IMM13 document holders whereby its issuance to children of holders of the documents had been stopped since Oct 12.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the discussions would also involve the Home Ministry (KDN) and the National Security Council (MKN).
“The Immigration Department has discussed with Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to determine the number of children of IMM13 document holders to ensure their human rights issues such as education and health needs are met.
“Any identification documents of these children which are kept by their parents will be reviewed so that all issues relating to the IMM13 document are well administered,” he told a news conference on the progress of immigration operations here today.
Mustafar was commenting on the directive that the department terminated the receipt of applications for the registrations of children to obtain the IMM13 document from parents who were holders of the IMM13 document with immediate effect (October 12) throughout Sabah and Labuan.
It was learned that the directive was issued following a video clip that viralled on social media concerning a group of people, believed to be foreigners, who had flooded the Immigration Department’s Special Unit at Wisma Dang Bandang here, which subsequently invited various perceptions claiming that the document facilitated them in obtaining identity cards to become citizens.
For the record, the IMM13 document registration had been stopped since 2013. The document was issued to Filipinos who fled to Sabah in the 1970s from their homeland in southern Philippines following the political crisis in the southern region of the country.
“We understand the state government’s concern over the matter being viralled about people thronging the Sabah Immigration Department’s office to register applications for the IMM13 document,” Mustafar said.
He did not disclose the time frame for the talks with the state government and the relevant agencies as deep discussions were needed to find the best approach to addressing the issue.
In another development, Mustafar said the department intended to increase the number of personnel at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to ensure the convenience and comfort of the airport users, especially tourists.
He hoped Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd would work together in ensuring an increase in the department’s service counters to make it easy for the department to improve the quality of its services. — Bernama
