`Dead' man walking in the streets

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- The federal government has been urged to carry out a massive re-registration of the people in Sabah to ensure that only local residents are issued with the MyKad or citizenship documents.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the exercise was important as there were irregularities in the registration exercise.

He cited the case of Rafli bin Dalam of Kota Belud (pix left), who was declared dead in 2001 by the National Registration Department but was very much alive.

"It should not have happened and maybe a syndicate was involved. The people of Sabah have aired their grouses over the citizenship status issue and now we have a dead man walking in the streets."

"What puzzles me was how Rafli was allowed to vote in the 2004 general election. The problem could be the tip of the iceberg," he told Bernama after accompanying Rafli to lodge a police report at the Karamunsing police station here today (top pix).

Rafli, 38, was certified dead by the NRD office in Hulu Langat, Selangor, on Oct 27, 2001.

Calling for the electoral roll to be cleaned up due to many cases of dubious identity cards brought before the court, he proposed that a royal commission be set up to look into the identity card problem in Sabah.

Meanwhile, Rafli, 38, said he was frustrated as his business license was revoked while his company's low-cost housing project was in limbo.

He found out that he had had been certified dead when he went to the Sabah NRD headquarters to get his daughter's birth certificate on April 30, 2007.

He said the NRD had yet to rectify the problem although he had complained several times, prompting him to make the police report today.

"Ironically, despite being certified dead in 2001, I was allowed to cast my vote in Kampung Sembirai (Usukan) in the 2004 general election. However, I could not vote in 2008 as my name was already removed from the electoral roll," he said