PBS FLAYS ANWAR OVER SABAH’S ALIEN POPULATION

By : MICHAEL KAUNG

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) is battling to quash doubts among Sabahans that the current government can resolve the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah who have been granted citizenship though unqualified for it.

In an attempt to push back the tide of disbelief that the government will indeed act on the matter, the Barisan Nasional component party cast doubt on whether Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, could do any better in resolving the long-standing issue.

The issue had been a bone of contention with a majority of Sabahans.

A senior PBS official brushed aside scepticism that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the abnormal rise in Sabah’s population would resolve the issue, especially claims that the authorities had helped foreigners gain citizenship in return for votes.

PBS secretary-general Henrynus Amin latched on to Anwar’s past record on the issue when he was in government and said it proved he had done nothing.

He said Anwar had been aware of the fraudulent granting of citizenship to foreigners who became “phantom voters” for BN candidates during past elections.

Amin, aware that support for his party is waning, said Anwar was against a RCI on the matter when he was the then deputy prime minister and as such, is not being sincere in claiming that the opposition had a better solution to the problem.

He was referring to a recent claim by MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek that Anwar was among those in the then BN government who objected to the formation of RCI in 1994 when he was deputy prime minister.

Amin said that even now Anwar was calling for all illegal immigrants to be issued with permanent resident status.

“This is a very dangerous proposition as, under the Federal Constitution, a foreigner who has been given permanent resident status and lives continuously in any part of Malaysia for more than five years, is eligible to apply for citizenship.

“PKR or Pakatan must therefore explain its intention to grant permanent resident status to illegal immigrants without documents if voted to power,” he said, adding that the party stood firm on the rule of law.

Mahathir’s ‘flawed’ thinking

Amin said the party also disagreed with the views expressed by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad that there was nothing wrong in granting citizenship to illegal immigrants who could converse in Bahasa Malaysia.

He said Mahathir’s statement was offensive as he was seeking to justify the change to the political demography of Sabah during his administration at the expense of the indigenous population.

He said Mahathir’s use of history to justify the free movement of foreigners into Sabah was “seriously flawed” and by his own logic, he seemed to justify the Philippine claim on Sabah or even the Indonesian confrontation during the creation of Malaysia.

“If Mahathir seriously thinks that foreigners from neighbouring countries can just walk into Sabah without documents and do what they like, what is the justification for Sabah to be part of Malaysia in the first place?” he added.

The ongoing praise by BN politicians and their supporters for the RCI and its terms of reference to investigate the alleged crime has raised further suspicions among the people in the state, given that so much has happened since the coalition took over the state in 1994.