Sabah IC would have solved the identity problem of suspected terrorist

KOTA KINABALU - It is bewildering that a few days after the arrest of a suspected terrorist in Johor, the Sabah Security Committee is still in the dark about the true identity of the “man from Sabah” detained along with six others in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee commented in a statement yesterday.

Yong added that in spite of having arrested the terror suspect, the authorities are still not even sure if he is a Sabahan or a foreigner with dubious document or whatever.

"I would have thought that, before the police arrested the terror suspect, the police would have uncovered his activities, and therefore his identity, before nabbing him.

He said in any case, “Sabah ICs” for genuine Malaysians in Sabah would have provided the relevant background information about the man, his birth place and his home town or village, Yong said.

"With such information, it takes no time to establish his former school, his family and social circle and employment history. Such information would be useful not only for preventive actions against terrorist attacks but also in conducting “deradicalisation” programmes for the future.

"Instead, the dismal failure of the federal government in protecting the sanctity of citizenship documents such as MyKad has exposed the vulnerabilities of our national security. The Sabah government should immediately set up a department to issue Sabah ICs to genuine Malaysians in Sabah," Yong stressed.

• Poser over identity of Sabah terror suspect