Sabah Suhakam chief Jasmih Slamat said a migrant had approached his office, claiming he had paid RM400 to a certain company to obtain the card.

“The migrant came to Suhakam to check whether this document was genuine,” he told reporters after an event here today.

Jasmih said Suhakam believed the syndicate was taking advantage of undocumented migrants, who were desperate to get their hands on official documents so that they could remain in Sabah and work.

“This group is trying to scam the people by issuing this card.”

Home minister Hamzah Zainudin had said last February that Putrajaya was considering a proposal by the Sabah government to provide identity cards to foreign nationals in the state.

Hamzah said the proposed identity card would allow foreigners to work here legally and send their children to school, but not grant them citizenship or permanent resident status.

In response, chief minister Hajiji Noor said the document was actually a “kad warga asing” (foreigner’s card) but the Sabah government had yet to make a decision on issuing them.

Deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan was later appointed to head a special committee on undocumented foreign workers and nationals in Sabah.

The preliminary report, which will include proposed solutions to Sabah’s migrant problem, on these groups will be presented to the state Cabinet next month.

Jasmih called on the authorities to look into the matter, saying Suhakam was not aware of how many such cards had been sold to migrants.

“We want the public to be aware of such activities,” he said, adding that the victims were scared to lodge police reports as they had no valid travel documents.

“They approached Suhakam based on trust.”

When contacted, Sabah police chief Idris Abdullah urged Suhakam to send over the information as they had investigated such cases previously.

“There are people out there trying to make a quick buck. These things happen,” he told FMT.