TOR FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN SABAH

By : DR. CHONG ENG LEONG

THE FIRST Term of this TOR admits that foreign migrants were given the blue ICs or citizenship – otherwise why investigate how many of them having been given such? We can calculate the number of these Project IC citizens by looking at the population increases of our country since Malaysia was formed.

Did these foreign migrants get their ICs or citizenship legally? Falsifying Sijil Akuan by stating that applicant was born in Sabah when in fact not is of course illegal. Who prepared the Sijil Akuan for the foreign migrants to sign?

When these ICs or “citizens” were registered in the electoral rolls, they were therefore illegally registered. We all know that EC will say that the ICs were genuine thus cannot refuse to register them.

This third Term must also include finding out how many of these Project IC citizens are registered in the current 950,000 names in Sabah electoral rolls.

My calculation is at least 200,000 of them – the phantom voters – and I stand to be corrected.

The Term on investigating the cause for the population increase in Sabah – Sarawak increased by 148% from 1970 to 2010 (976,269 to 2,420,000) and compare to Sabah’s of 410% (Labuan included)(648,963 to 3,309,700) – this is a very abnormal increase for Sabah.

And Tun Dr. Mahathir finally came out to say last week that migrants in Sabah were given citizenship. And they were registered in Sabah electoral rolls, no doubt. The effect of this is obvious – in 1999 State seats of Langkon and Sook were replaced by two seats in Tawau Residency where large number of these phantom voters was found.

In 2004 when 12 new seats were created in Sabah – six were in Tawau and Sandakan Residencies, and two in Kota Kinabalu Residency, in areas with large number of phantom voters. Effectively 9 out these 12 new areas went to phantom-voters-infested areas (Sook was re-created). The fixed deposit of BN.

The RCI, on getting the official appointment from our Agong, would have six months to complete its investigations. Wonder when will the appointments be made? And whether Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim would accept the appointment as he declined to be in the Panel to probe the Bersih 3.0 incidence on health ground. This RCI job is certainly more taxing than the Bersih 3.0 one.

The public expect the RCI to call top ex-civil servants like Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji; Tun Dr. Mahathir; Tan Sri Harris Salleh; about fifty ex-ISA detainees including ex-Director of NRD Sabah Ramlee Kamaruddin, Hassnar Ibrahim, Akjan, Shamsul Alang, Jabar Khan and Yaakup Damsah (related to issuance of ICs to foreigners); Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Datuk Seri Yayha Hussin, Datuk Radin Malleh, Datuk Yayha Lampong, author M D Mutalib, ex-Election Commission Chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, Mafrel Chief Abdul Malek Husin and of course present NRD officers concerned for getting tons of files out for display. And not to forget many more from the public who have knowledge of ICs issued dubiously to foreigners.

It took PM six months to decide on the TOR – Cabinet decided to have the RCI on 8 Feb 2012. Can the RCI finish the public hearings (hope hearings are made public) within six months? Let alone combing through tons of files to finish the investigations. Therefore six months are not enough if you have to do the job professionally.

Besides, the TOR do not include pin-pointing the master mind of the Project IC. Since it is also known as Project Mahathir, ex-PM Tun Dr. Mahathir must be called to testify. He had finally admitted last week that the population increase in Sabah was due to citizenship given to migrants – given dubiously as will be proven so, no doubt about that.

Track records of previous RCIs do give an impression of lack of sincerity on BN govt’s side to solve problems. And, only one of the eight Terms of Reference says about recommendations to be made upon findings made; seven of them are just investigations – to find out whether blue ICs were given illegally, without right to pin-pointing the person ultimately responsible, without right to make recommendation.

Najib is not sincere in solving the illegal immigrants, Project IC issue and phantom voters. He said in year 2000 that PTI issue was serious. He chaired the Federal Cabinet Committee on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah when he was DPM for four years. He created the Laboratory on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah in 2010. All these were on paperless foreigners – those with IMM13 papers and holders of Project ICs were not in the terms of reference. Even solving the paperless foreigners issue was or could not be done let alone the IMM13, the foreigners with dubious ICs and phantom voters in Sabah electoral rolls.

BN cannot fool people all the time. BN may have all the power of money, media and machinery to bluff the people but ultimately it is God and the people who would triumph.