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KOTA KINABALU – Alarmed by the spike in new voter numbers on the electoral roll, a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leader suggest the Election Commission (EC) make it compulsory for Sabah voters to show their birth certificates, in addition to their MyKad, when voting on November 19.
GRS Penampang chairman Kenny Chua said this was one way to stop dubious voters from casting ballots.
“The irregular spike in the number of voters is of great concern to the people in Sabah.
“This is one solution which we think will be effective and the EC should adopt it to stop dubious voters in the state.
“Mykad alone will not be enough,” Chua, of Parti Solidariti Tanahairku, said today in a statement that was also endorsed by the Penampang GRS division committee.
Concerns by various Sabah leaders have been raised over the latest electoral roll released by the EC, which showed a 53.9% (or 574,120) increase in new voters.
Chua claimed the spike may have happened due to controversial Projek IC in the 1990s, a nickname given to an unofficial programme to issue identity cards to undocumented migrants and residents. Sabah has had a long-standing problem with illegal immigrants due to its porous border with the southern Philippines.
Chua added that Sabahans over the years have lost confidence in the MyKad’s legitimacy to prove the identity of genuine Sabahans.
He noted how three individuals, one of them an officer in the National Registration Department from Semporna, were arrested in 2019 for involvement in the issuance of birth certificates and Mykads to undocumented persons.
He admitted, however, that showing one’s birth certificate before voting may also not be a full-proof solution. – The Vibes, October 24, 2022