Youth spends nearly four years in Immigration lock-up due to technical flaw on birth cert

GOPENG: A 26-year-old man has entered his fourth year at the Langkap Immigration Detention Centre despite being born in Malaysia and having a birth certificate.

Mohd Farid Abdullah, who was born a Hindu and converted to become a Muslim when he was 12, was first arrested in September 2019 during an operation in Klebang when he failed to show his MyKad.

He did not have one, said Mohamad Tarudi Bahari, 68, from a religious centre called Pondok Al Jaafar near Gua Tempurung here.

“Mohd Farid was sent to us by a religious teacher from Klang in Selangor when he was 17. He tried to register for a MyKad but was rejected because his mother’s identity card number is not recorded in his birth certificate.

“As he stayed with us, besides guiding him about religion, we also taught him some skills and he showed interest in repairing cars and other vehicles.

“When he was 22, I asked him to work at a workshop in Klebang, where he ended up being arrested and I only found out about it about a year later,” he told reporters on Monday (Aug 7).

Mohamad Tarudi said he received a phone call, informing him that Mohd Farid is being detained at the detention centre.

“Although he is not my biological son, I still treat him as one. So I started the process of finding his parents and found out that they had divorced.

“At that time, his father R. Ramachandran, 54, was in Kajang prison and his mother lived in Klang.

“We waited for a few years for Ramachandran to be released from jail. He helped to convince his ex-wife to update their’s son’s birth certificate,” he said.

With the updated document, Mohamad Tarudi went to the detention centre in hope to get Mohd Farid out from there but both attempts, in June and on July 26, ended in failure.

“I brought all the necessary documents including a copy stating that Mohd Farid’s birth certificate is being updated, but we were told that it was not accepted.

“The officer said only an original birth certificate is accepted but I was told that the new birth certificate will only be issued next month,” he claimed.

Ramachandran, who was also present at the press conference, hoped his son could be released as soon as possible.

“Shortly after my release, I started working on the issue. Although my ex-wife and I were not on good terms, we overlook the matter and focused on getting our son out.

“I hope he can be released soon because the last time I spoke to him was in May, he claimed that no one care about his well-being,” he added.

Efforts to get Perak Immigration to comment have been made.