Less than two weeks into the Immigration Department's registration exercise of the estimated 12,000 Rohingya asylum-seekers, the process is marred by claims and counter-claims of bribery, fraud and corruption.

When the process began on Aug 1, it was welcomed by the Rohingyas who had long waited to be granted the IMM 13 forms which would allow them to seek lawful employment and school their children.

Former Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid made the promise in April 2005. On July 25, 2006, a committee comprising ministry officials and Rohingya volunteers was formed to interview Rohingyas and grant them the 'IMM 13' documents.

Over the first four days of the exercise, one immigration depot in Selangor saw about 1,600 Rohingyas who had fled the military-ruled Burma being granted the forms.

Non-Rohingyas brought in

However, things took a turn for the worse last week. There were almost daily glitches and halts.

Many Rohingyas claimed that despite waiting for days outside the gates of the depot, they were denied entry while other non-Rohingya undocumented migrants seeking to obtain the IMM 13 forms were allowed in.

The Rohingyas, some who came from as far as Johor with their children in tow, complained that non-Rohingya Burmese and even Indian, Bangladesh and Thai migrants had acquired the coveted documents.

The problem was also acknowledged by a ministry official.

The official, who declined to be named, said while the authorities planned to register 400 Rohingyas each day, they found that on average about 460 IMM 13s forms were issued per day, many to non-Rohingyas.

"After four days, we caught more than 100 undocumented migrants that we identified as being non-Rohingyas," he added when contacted recently.

Police reports lodged

Meanwhile, Deputy-chief of the Rohingya Information Center (RIC) Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman claimed that unscrupulous private 'agents' were working hand-in-hand with people 'on the inside' to secure the IMM 13 forms for non-Rohingyas.

Abdul Ghani, who was among the volunteer interviewers, filed two police reports on the matter with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) police station.

"While I was there (at the depot), I saw some individuals bring people to the gates (of the depot). They interviewed these people, whereas neither they nor officials of the ministry are in a position to determine whether they are really Rohingyas," he said in one of the reports dated Aug 9.

In his second report dated Aug 10, Abdul Ghani alleged that a group of 42 non-Rohingya Burmese as well as Bangladeshis who were arrested and brought to the depot on Aug 3 were latter issued with IMM 13 forms.

Abdul Ghani fingered

However, a visit to the depot by malaysiakini last week saw another twist to the story.

An immigration officer claimed that Abdul Ghani was among the agents who were bringing non-Rohingya Burmese and non-Burmese to be registered.

The officer, who declined to be named, also accused Abdul Ghani of charging exorbitant fees to his own countrymen.

The Home Ministry official also backed the claim, adding that Abdul Ghani had been stopped beginning Aug 7 from participating in the interview process for the above reasons.

"Abdul Ghani is among those collecting money from these people. That is the very reason we stopped him from working with us," he said.

Abdul Ghani, who refuted the allegations, claimed that he was stopped from participating in the interview process because he was considered a stumbling block by those bringing in non-Rohingyas.

RIC chief Sawmeeullah Nawzumeah also backed his deputy.

"Would Abdul Ghani bring these non-Rohingyas and then point them out to the immigration officials as being non-Rohingyas himself?" he asked.

Contacted today, Sepang district police chief Zahidi Ayob confirmed that the two police reports had been lodged.

He said further action would depend on the deliberation and initiative of the immigration authorities.

"Having failed that, only then will we take the appropriate action," he added.