The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah uncovered a forged identity card during today's proceedings.
The forged document belonged to witness Ishak Us'luan, 46, who was on the stand. Ishak was born in Timor, Lambata, Indonesia.
Conducting officer Jamil Aripin informed Ishak there was no record of his IC in the National Registration Department's databank.
"This is forged, you were cheated," said Jamil who then confiscated the IC.
A stunned Ishak was then taken by the investigating officer to the Indonesian consulate to apply for a new passport.
Ishak told the commission earlier that he had arrived in Tawau in 1983 and had worked in a factory.
He said his wife and three children held Indonesian passports.
He later moved to Kunak where in 1984 he met a Bugis man Usman Lajat from Semporna who offered him and 17 others blue identity cards for RM40 each.
“Usman filled the forms and took our thumbprint. Two months later he came back with the blue ICs,” said Ishak.
However, Ishak said he later lost the blue identity card but could not get a replacement.
"I tried but I could not get a new one. And then, another man said he could get a MyKad for me for RM500, so I paid him and I got my card," he said.
However, Ishak said he could not recall the name of the individual who helped him.
Ishak also admitted that he even tried to register to vote but his application was rejected.
Jamil told the five panelists at the RCI that a check with the list of voters in the Election Commission showed his name was not registered there.
“His IC isn’t in the list of voters,” said Jamil to the RCI panel.
Ishak also explained that for the five years he has used the fake identification card, he has never had any problem as he has not dealt with banks and the police.
“I don’t have a bank account and I never faced a cop,” he said.
Almost 28 percent of Sabah residents are immigrants, with estimates of about 889,000 being from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The RCI on illegal immigrants started last January and revealed testimonies from Filipinos and other immigrants that mapped out how they received their blue identification card in just a few years after arriving in Sabah and had also voted in elections.
It is being held at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex. - July 3, 2013.
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