The National Registration Department (JPN) has denied claims of widespread issuance of blue identity cards (MyKad) to Pakistani nationals in Sabah, following renewed social media accusations that have revived a similar controversy from 2019.

The department confirmed that at least one individual, Mohd Izaz Bin Abit, was found to have fraudulently obtained an identity card using someone else’s birth certificate. 

Legal action has been initiated, and the MyKad in question has been seized following confessions by the applicant and the facilitator of the application.

However, JPN clarified that other names which circulated alongside the viral allegations — including Abd Rauf Bin Hamzah, Mohd Abzah Ulamai Dar, and Said Bashar Bin Shah Zadar — were in fact legitimate Malaysian citizens by operation of law under Article 14 of the Federal Constitution.

“All three hold citizenship either by birth or descent through lawful lineage. One individual’s father has been a Malaysian citizen since March 6, 1958,” the department said in a statement issued on Wednesday. 

The department stressed that citizenship applications, including those involving long-term residents and foreign spouses, are governed by strict constitutional provisions and legal requirements. 

These include the Citizenship Rules 1964, and various laws concerning marriage registration, adoption, legitimacy of children, and immigration.

“Fulfilling the eligibility criteria only qualifies one to apply — it does not guarantee approval,” the department said, adding that Malaysia, as a sovereign state, does not grant citizenship arbitrarily or offer special privileges to any group.

The statement comes amid mounting scrutiny over demographic shifts and perceived irregularities in identification documentation in Sabah, a state historically sensitive to issues of immigration, statelessness, and political manipulation of citizenship. – June 25, 2025