A 26-year-old man named Mohd Farid Abdullah has been detained at the Langkap Immigration Detention Centre in Malaysia for the past four years, despite being born in the country and having a birth certificate. Mohd Farid, who converted to Islam at the age of 12, was arrested in September 2019 during a police operation in Klebang when he failed to provide his identification card, known as MyKad.
Mohamad Tarudi Bahari, a religious teacher and supervisor at Pondok Al Jaafar, a religious center near Gua Tempurung, explained that Mohd Farid was sent to them by a religious teacher from Klang, Selangor at the age of 17. When he tried to register for a MyKad, his application was rejected due to his birth certificate not having his mother’s identity card number recorded.
During his time at the religious center, Mohd Farid developed skills in car and vehicle repair. At the age of 22, Tarudi encouraged him to work at a workshop in Klebang, where he was subsequently arrested. Tarudi only found out about his detention a year later.
Tarudi, who considers Mohd Farid as his own son, began the process of locating his parents and discovered that they had divorced. Mohd Farid’s father, R. Ramachandran, was in prison at the time, while his mother lived in Klang.
After waiting for Ramachandran’s release, Tarudi convinced him to update their son’s birth certificate. With the updated document, Tarudi attempted to secure Mohd Farid’s release from the detention center twice, in June and on July 26, but was unsuccessful.
According to Tarudi, he was informed that only an original birth certificate would be accepted, despite providing a copy stating that Mohd Farid’s birth certificate was being updated. He claimed that the new birth certificate would not be issued until the following month.
Ramachandran, who was present at a press conference, expressed his hope for his son’s quick release. He had been working on resolving the issue since his own release from prison and emphasized the importance of his son’s well-being.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Perak Immigration regarding the situation have been made.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
