02/05/2020 05:02 PM
PUTRAJAYA, May 2 -- All statements and pictures uploaded on social media lately about fake identity cards (MyKads) have been scrutinised and reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) through the National Registration Department (NRD), said its Minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
In the meantime, he said the NRD had lodged a police report yesterday (May 1) on a website advertising and selling fake MyKads online.
"Further investigations and actions will be taken by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) on MyKad falsification crimes which tarnish the good name of the NRD," he said in a statement today on the MyKad counterfeit issue.
According to Hamzah, the MyKad pictures that had been trending on social media currently were the old pictures which had been uploaded again related to the MyKad counterfeiting case in Penang in 2019.
However, he said no new pictures and information on the counterfeiting of MyKad could be identified.
According to him, the PDRM had arrested the individuals involved in the MyKad falsification case in Penang and they were currently undergoing trial in court.
Hamzah stressed that the government viewed seriously cases involving MyKad forgery whether they involved JPN personnel or certain syndicates, where the PDRM and NRD would continue to cooperate through the "Ops Biru" on the matter.
A special task force had also been set up to investigate MyKad counterfeiting cases and to hunt down the masterminds involved.
"The government will never protect and compromise concerning any misconduct in this matter," he said.
On the urgings of certain parties that the government changed the existing MyKad to a new one to address the MyKad counterfeiting, Hamzah said the NRD was constantly reviewing improvements and updates to MyKad especially in terms of security features.
The NRD has also improved the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by tightening the process of reviewing and approving identity documents while strengthening monitoring within the NRD system, he said.
The public, he said, should stop spreading fake news messages on social media to avoid confusion and anxiety among the people or face legal action under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
-- BERNAMA
