Immigration Dept failed to issue more than 800k i-Kads

PETALING JAYA: The Immigration Department had failed to issue 824,119 (15.1%) of i-Kads meant for documented workers between 2014 to March, with over 1.5 million i-Kads yet to be accorded status, according to the Auditor-General's Report 2016 Series 2, released today.
The report pointed out that this was due several factors such as the 79-day delay of contract signing between Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad (PNMB) and the Home Ministry, the weaknesses of the contract documents, the Immigration (Amendment) Regulations 2017, which was still at a draft stage and has yet to be gazetted, among others.
Despite initial assurances that foreign workers would be given their i-Kad simultaneously with the issuance of the foreign workers' temporary employment visit passes (PLKS), the report also revealed that 931,729 i-Kads were issued late between 2014-2016 following the issuance of PLKS more than 35 days prior.
"RM4.32 million in penalties were not imposed on PNMB for the delay in issuing the i-Kads to employers," the report stated.
Another highlight revealed that foreign workers are still being arrested despite having the i-Kad in their possession.
The report stated the usage of the i-Kad as an identification document for foreign workers failed because the document was not recognised as an official identification document by enforcement authorities.
"84 out of 134 employers found that due to the i-Kad not being recognised as an official document, the foreign workers were still being arrested by the authorities. This is because the police have difficulties verifying the authenticity of the i-Kad and would have to refer to the Immigration Department or PNMB to verify the document," it said.
The report recommended that all printed i-Kads be issued immediately to employers by improving the methods and procedures in managing the i-Kad delivery system.
"The process involving the gazetting of the i-Kad must be accelerated to ensure integration and coordination with enforcement agencies such as PDRM by means of issuing letter of i-Kad usage and by organising joint-meetings to validate the use of the i-Kad as the official document of the foreign worker."
The identification card for foreigners was first introduced in 2013 to help authorities track illegal immigrants.
It has advanced security features, including biometric and barcodes to help facilitate inspections by the authorities.
The validity period of the i-Kad is the same as the PLKS and its issuance does not incur extra cost to the employers.
However, the i-Kad cannot be used in place of passport or any travel documents for the purpose of entry or departure abroad or for travel within the country.
The i-Kad is issued to foreign workers in various sectors according to the colour codes such as expatriate (gold), agriculture (green), farming (orange), construction (grey), service (yellow), manufacturing (red) and domestic helpers (brown).