THE rush at the Kota Kinabalu Immigration Department office last week was due to a census, and not because visitors’ passes were being issued, said Mustafar Ali.

The director-general of Immigration said the census was conducted to determine the number of children of IMM13 holders in Sabah.

“It was not a registration exercise. We were only checking the documents and carrying out a study,” he told a press conference in the state capital today.

Videos and photos of IMM13 holders flooding Wisma Dang Bandang last Thursday had gone viral and prompted a negative reaction from the public. Following this, state Immigration director Musa Sulaiman called off the census the next day.

Mustafar said a clarification has been given to Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, who was unaware of the census being carried out.

It is crucial to know the number of children of IMM13 holders so that Malaysia fulfils its obligations to defend human rights – as urged by the United Nations – and ensure education for the children of migrants in Sabah, said Mustafar.

He said the census was also carried out to determine the number of IMM13 holders who are married to locals.

He added that the effort will now be carried out jointly between the department, Home Ministry and state government.

The issuance of IMM13 was halted in 2013 due to security concerns. – October 15, 2018.