‘SULU SULTAN’ CASE CRYING OUT FOR ANSWERS

SECRET…..There’s no way the authorities can sweep the Akjan ISA detention case under the carpet.

By : JOE FERNANDEZ

SABAHANS are baying for the blood of one Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad, a Suluk who claims to be a Sulu ‘Datu’ and was previously once held for distributing MyKads to illegal immigrants in Sabah.

His case itself mirrors that of the illegal immigrants in the state, but he has led an incredibly charmed life so far. Akjan was reportedly born in the Philippines but holds a Malaysian birth certificate as well as MyKad, although he has admitted in the media to holding a Philippine passport as well.

The Akjan case has thrown the spotlight anew on the Philippine claim to parts of Sabah, the continuing influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah, the issuance of local birth certificates and MyKads to many of them and, as previous witness accounts in court in the Likas election petition of 1999 show, their placement on the electoral rolls.

Akjan, in the latest twist, declared himself on Feb 2 in Kampung Likas, Kota Kinabalu, as the Sultan of Sulu, a group of islands in the southern Philippines which once had territorial links with the northern and eastern third of Sabah.

There has been no official reaction so far from the Philippine government on the declaration and this hasn’t surprised Wisma Putra, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry. There is no shortage of claimants to the Sulu throne and Akjan may simply be seen by Manila as another sick joker in the pack.

Even so, Sabahans are more than apprehensive following Akjan’s sudden move, and for other reasons as well. The now defunct Sulu sultanate – formally ended by the Madrid Protocol of 1885 between Britain, Germany and Spain – once ruled, more than 250 years ago (1658-1761), over the northern and eastern third of Sabah as its colonies in North Borneo. This is the basis of the Philippine claim since 1963 to the territory in Sabah.

Many Suluks in particular want their old Sabah colonies back although their homeland is now part of the Philippines which dates back to Feb 13, 1565 and was put together under more than 300 years of Spanish colonial occupation and 50 years under United States protection and administration.

The Manila government is complicit in Sulu demands as evident from the claim that the Sulu Sultanate transferred its control over its Sabah colonies to the Philippines.

Criminal exploitation

The world has moved on, away from enslavement and criminal exploitation, since the end of western colonial domination and imperialism. The Suluks, many being among the 1.7 million illegal immigrants and foreigners in Sabah, want to move back however in time and lord it over the people of Sabah once again.

Sabahans, already seeing themselves and the Sarawakians as virtually colonised by Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) since 1963, therefore naturally see Akjan as the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

The police, after holding Akjan briefly, released him suddenly on May 22 with no explanations whatsoever beyond mumbling vague nothings. Akjan reportedly offered, as Sultan of Sulu, to drop the Sabah claim. It’s not known what he wants in return besides the obvious one of recognition as the Sultan of Sulu and no doubt admission to the Conference of Rulers by staking a territorial claim to the northern and eastern third of Sabah.

The reaction in Sabah to Akjan’s release has been fast and furious. The 1.5 million Sabahans are demanding that Akjan be charged with any number of offences, stripped of his Malaysian citizenship, and deported to the Philippines.

Akjan, during his installation ceremony, called on the Suluks – presumably including those in Sabah – to swear allegiance to him. There are as many Malaysian citizens – legally or illegally – as illegal immigrants among the Suluks in Sabah.

The last time that the police nabbed Akjan, in the mid-1990s, he was incarcerated under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) for being allegedly involved in the issuance of MyKads to illegal immigrants and their placement on the electoral rolls.

He was discovered with 2,000 MyKads in his briefcase at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on his return from Kuala Lumpur. The authorities never revealed who handed the MyKads to him in Kuala Lumpur.

Suspicion has fallen on the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya which has been linked with the infamous ‘Projek IC Mahathir’ named after the then Prime Minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad).

Akjan, upon being released from ISA detention, resumed his membership in Sabah Umno and went on to become very wealthy by all accounts, apparently favoured by the powers that be that went out of their way for him.

Standing offer

Moving forward, it’s apparent that the authorities will have to explain Akjan’s mid-1990s ISA detention as well and not just probe him for declaring himself Sultan of Sulu. There’s no way that they can sweep this case under the carpet as on the previous occasion and as with so many other similar cases.

Bringing closure to the Akjan case would not be possible without taking up the standing offer of Batu Sapi PKR division chief, Hassnar Ebrahim, to tell all that he knows about the issuance of MyKads to illegal immigrants in Sabah and their placement on the electoral rolls. So far, there have been no takers. Meanwhile, like Akjan, Hassnar has gone from the proverbial rags to riches.

Hassnar himself was previously detained under the ISA on Aug 9, 1998, after admitting openly that he ‘unknowingly’ issued 15,000 MyKads to illegal immigrants and placed them on the electoral rolls. His confession was recorded years later by Bernama, the national news agency, and published on Jan 19, 2007.

He has also further claimed that ‘other operatives’ in the state placed 135,000 illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls.

These figures are separate from the 193,600 Sabah ICs with old numbers claimed as not genuine by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) in Parliament just before it was re-admitted into the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) on Jan 23, 2002.

PBS cited the numbers in running order as H0288001 to H03840000, involving 96,000 holders; H0480001 to H05760000 (96,000); H0609601 to H0610000 (400); H0658001 to H0658200 (200); H0658401 to H0659000 (600); and H0666001 to H0666400 (400). Generally, there are Chinese applicants, for example, for every few thousand IC applications in Sabah. The numbers exposed by PBS do not have even one Chinese applicant.

BN supporter

Two MyKad cases are also worth mentioning in connection with Akjan and Hassnar and any genuine probe – a Royal Commission of Inquiry has been mentioned – into the issuance of MyKads to illegal immigrants in Sabah by NRD in Putrajaya.

Pakistani trader Salman Majid, 49, was ordered released from a pending deportation order in late 2009 after former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh testified on his behalf in a Kuala Lumpur court. Harris confirmed that Salman had always been a loyal BN supporter and voted for the coalition.

The court promptly declared Salman a ‘Malaysian’. It was even revealed in court that Salman, represented by lawyer Karpal Singh, was born in Pakistan, but held a local Sabah birth certificate, besides a MyKad and a Malaysian passport. Salman is now suing the authorities for ‘compensation’.

Indian Muslim restaurant keeper Mohd Kani Majid, 45, like Salman, escaped deportation after being held on Apriil 10, April 2009, in Kota Kinabalu at the Menggatal detention centre for illegal immigrants.

He admitted in court that he was born in India, arrived in Sabah in 1983, and obtained a MyKad in 1993 along with 100 other Indians and Pakistanis in Papar, Sabah. It’s not clear whether Mohd Kani applied first for Malaysian citizenship before getting his MyKad.

The Immigration Department allegedly seized his Malaysian passport and tried to force him to apply for an Indian passport while he was in detention but he refused. Instead, his lawyers PJ Perira – who also represents Akjan – and Ram Singh wrote to the prime minister on Aug 7, 2009, on his continued detention. On Aug 12, the Attorney-General’s Chambers responded that they had referred the matter to the Legal Affairs Department of the Home Ministry.

The case of the two Majids, Mohd Kani and Salman, along with that of Akjan and Hassnar are enough for the federal government to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the issuance of MyKads and other Malaysian personal documents to illegal immigrants in Sabah by the NRD in Putrajaya and their placement on the electoral rolls.