By : CLARA CHOOI
KOTA KINABALU : A Sabah-based Barisan Nasional (BN) party
today condemned Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his 'insensitive' defence of
Sabah's increasing migrant population, an emotive issue that will likely be
central to the pact's campaign for the state in the coming polls.
The United Pasokmomogun
Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) said in a statement here that Dr
Mahathir, whom the opposition has blamed for Sabah's unchecked population
increase, had confused the state's illegal immigrants with its legal migrants.
"Legal migrants are
foreigners who enter Malaysia legally with the requisite visa or work permit
endorsed on their passports from their respective country of origin, who later
decide to apply for Malaysian citizenship," UPKO information chief Datuk
Donald Peter Mojuntin reminded the country's longest serving prime minister.
"Illegal immigrants are
those who enter Malaysia without any passports or travel documentation,"
he said.
The Penampang MP pointed out
to Dr Mahathir that the key concern in the issue was over allegations that
illegal immigrants have been given Malaysian identification cards very quickly
through "dubious means" and that their names have also entered the
state's electoral roll.
He noted that several
Filipino migrants have even admitted during previous interviews with local
Sabah dailies that they had obtained their MyKads through "Projek IC"
and were photographed holding up their cards.
Mojuntin recalled the 1999
Likas election petition case at a High Court here, where a Filipino named Fuad
Arif from Tawi-Tawi island had testified that he had obtained his
identification card through "Projek IC".
In the same case, he added,
another witness called Hassnar Ibrahim had also admitted to being directly
involved in "Projek IC".
"Various books have
been written about the existence of 'Projek IC'. Since the 1980s, there have
been so many Sabahans from the grassroots level to community and political
leaders voicing their concerns about this issue," Mojuntin said.
"UPKO and genuine
Sabahans are very disappointed with and angered by the insensitive statement by
Dr Mahathir.
"This a real and
serious issue that affects the lives of genuine Malaysian citizens in Sabah and
the problem may have already seeped to the peninsula.
"It concerns national
security, economic and job opportunities as well as health issues. It has
tarnished our electoral rolls," he said.
Dr Mahathir has long been
accused of spearheading “Project IC”, an initiative to award foreigners
Malaysian citizenships in exchange for votes in the east Malaysian state,
allegedly to help keep the ruling BN in power.
The apparent correlation
between Sabah's population boom with Dr Mahathir's tenure from 1981 to 2003 has
drawn even more suspicion to the influential leader's alleged involvement in
the matter.
But the former prime
minister, in an apparent move to quieten the uproar over the longstanding
issue, yesterday wrote in his blog that many migrants in Sabah were qualified
to be given Malaysian citizenships as they have stayed in the country for
decades and speak Bahasa Malaysia.
"On the basis of length
of stay and mastering of the national language, they qualify to be citizens of
this country. And so they acquired citizenship.
"By comparison we have
many citizens who cannot speak the national language who were accepted as
citizens. And we are still giving citizenship to foreigners who wish to be
Malaysians on condition they have been living in this country for 10 out of the
last 12 years, speak the national language and take the oath of allegiance to
the country.
"So why cannot the
migrants to Sabah who have all these qualifications be accepted as citizens?
The objections for them being accepted seem to be political," he said.
Dr Mahathir's words may have
bruised BN badly, particularly as it comes at a crucial time for the
once-formidable Sabah BN, which was just hit by the departures of two senior BN
federal lawmakers.
The lawmakers - Tuaran MP
Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, formerly UPKO's deputy president, and
Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin - had left their respective posts in BN to
pledge support for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) last month, citing dissatisfaction with
the government's apparent inaction over the state's immigrant issue.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Razak is scheduled to visit the state this Saturday in an apparent move
to head off further revolt over the matter, and is expected to announce the
terms of reference for the highly-anticipated Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI)
into Sabah's illegal immigrants problem.
Najib had announced the
highly-anticipated RCI on Sabah’s illegals issue on June 1 but stopped short of
revealing details of the panel’s composition and terms of reference.
The issue has been bandied
about in the media for nearly six months since February 10 when Sabah BN leader
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok’s first announced Cabinet’s decision to form the RCI.
The unchecked influx of
illegal immigrants in Sabah has been a longstanding problem in the BN-ruled
state, and frequently blamed for the rise in social, economic and security
problems suffered by the locals here.
According to replies
provided in Parliament last year, Sabah’s populace numbered 651,304 in 1970 and
grew to 929,299 a decade later. But in the two decades following 1980, the
state’s population rose significantly by a staggering 1.5 million people,
reaching 2,468,246 by 2000.
Media reports said that as
of 2010, this number has grown further to 3.12 million, with foreigners making
up a sizeable 27 per cent or 889,799 of the population.
Opposition leaders have long
raged against the BN government for this population explosion, alleging that
illegals have been allowed into the east Malaysian state, and given MyKads and
voting rights to help the ruling coalition cling to power.
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