KUCHING: Having a MyKad is sufficient for Malaysians from the peninsula and Sabah visiting Sarawak, said Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said the re-introduction of passport ruling for non-Sarawakians, as suggested by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing would cause more issues in future.
He said the move would not only affect tourism sector, particularly tourist inflow, but also had negative impact on national integration.
“Imagine a family of five visiting from the peninsula having to possess five passports; it would be costly to travel to Sarawak. We must be rational in addressing the issue.
“I have no qualms about foreign tourists (on the passport ruling), but (it should) not (be imposed on) Malaysians,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Abdul Karim described the suggestion by Masing was outdated and was not appropriate in the digital era.
He said the Immigration Department’s network is linked with the National Department in the aspects of identification of Malaysian citizens, including those from the Peninsula and Sabah.
“Otherwise, our (Sarawak) Immigration Department would not be able to stop politicians from the peninsula at the airport and the border when they furnish MyKad for such purpose.
“This shows that identity card (MyKad) is a valid, good document with quality,” he said.
Karim said citizens of the European Union (EU) members no longer use passports for journeys within the countries as they believed in identification through identity card, driver’s license or Big Data.
“Our country’s banking system is also migrating towards cashless (transactions) and no longer use bank books to withdraw money.
“In fact, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) and Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) are no longer using deposit books for transaction due to the confidence in digital system,” he said.
Masing had previously said Sarawak should reintroduce the use of passport for visitors from the peninsula and Sabah as it was stipulated in Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) as part of the immigration autonomy of Sarawak.
“We must uphold the original agreement as it would define our autonomy on immigration. We had encroached MA63; thus, we must revert to its original status,” he said.
