KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 -- For nearly two decades, Mohd Rosli Idris has lived a life few can imagine - alive in person, but officially dead on paper.

The 54-year-old has been locked out of work, aid and basic services after a bureaucratic error in 2008 mistakenly recorded him as deceased, effectively erasing his identity from Malaysia's official system, according to Kosmo!

Rosli, who was then working as a second-hand clothing seller around Chow Kit, said the mix-up began when his former employer encountered a gravely ill man who closely resembled him.

With no identification on the man, the employer contacted Rosli's cousin.

"With no identification on him, my employer contacted my cousin and informed him that I had died," Rosli told the ...