KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — The National Registration Department (NRD) warned that it is an offence for any individual, including management office of residential buildings or security guards, to hold on to another person's identity card (MyKad).

NRD said it is an offense under the National Registration Regulations 1990.

NRD director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh told Malay daily Utusan Malaysia that the MyKad is a national security document that cannot be possessed by any other individual unless they are Malaysian citizens.

This is to prevent the possibility of other parties falsifying information found on MyKads and using it to commit other crimes.

He said only officers authorised in accordance with Regulation 25 under the National Registration Regulations 1990 have the authority to hold and inspect a MyKad.

Therefore, he said, security guards or the management of residences or buildings cannot arbitrarily ask visitors to hand over their MyKads.

"If there is a condominium security guard or any unrelated individual trying to hold or check someone else's MyKad, they can report it to the NRD.

"We want to stress that only officers or authorities such as the police, the Road Transport Department, the Customs Department, the Immigration Department are authorised to hold on to another individual's MyKad,” Ruslin was quoted saying.

According to Ruslin, the NRD is concerned with the rising forgery of documents, especially with many foreigners seeking to obtain citizenship here illegally.

He explained that 491 arrests through various operations have been made by the NRD from 2020 until last November.

He said 289 involved various MyKad-related offences, including using fake identity cards, using someone else's identity cards, or having more than one identity card.

Apart from this, the NRD found that the mastermind behind a MyKad counterfeiting syndicate comprised local and foreign nationals who were believed to move in small groups and often change locations.

"Even though the number is not many, we take it seriously and are very committed to combating the falsification of personal documents to the root.

"In fact, recently we discovered that certain parties are using a modus operandi to advertise the sale of MyKad, myPR and other identification documents on WhatsApp and Facebook ... many individuals were deceived and lost RM6,000 as a result of being deceived by the syndicate.

"I would like to emphasise that NRD never offers services through agents or social media. In fact, all matters must be present at the JPN counter or office," he said.