Compiled by SIM LEOI LEOI, JAROD LIM and R. ARAVINTHAN
THOUSANDS of illegal immigrants from the Philippines have been using genuine MyKads belonging to Malaysians to enter the country over the past five years, Harian Metro reported.
In many cases, illegals holding MyKads do not resemble the MyKad holder’s picture on the identity document, but they are allowed to board commercial flights from a Sabah airport to KLIA2 in Sepang.
In an investigative probe by reporters of the Malay daily, syndicates based in Sabah were believed to be behind the human trafficking.
“Based on early intelligence, one of the main syndicates is spearheaded by two local women in their 40s and 50s.
“The two sisters are believed to have dual citizenship, allowing them to traipse in and out of southern Philippines,” said a source.
According to the source, the women would arrange to purchase flight tickets based on information in the genuine MyKads.
“The group would then give the illegals the genuine MyKads and boarding passes.
“It’s very strange when some of the illegals could easily slip through security checks at the airport when they don’t look at all like the pictures on the MyKad.
“It’s believed that some of the security personnel at the airport have been bribed,” said the source.
> A 200-year-old tamarind tree (asam jawa) in Kampung Bawah Bukit, Chuping, Perlis, is still producing 100kg of tamarind seeds during the peak season between January and March, Utusan Malaysia reported.
The owner of the tree, Salmiah Shaari, would often give away the tamarind seeds for free, which are used for cooking.
Peeled tamarind seeds sell for between RM18 and RM20 per kg.
“I find the process of peeling the pods for the seeds very therapeutic, and sometimes I can do it for hours,” said Salmiah, whose relatives would frequently come by to assist her.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
