By : BOO SU-LYN
KOTA KINABALU : Foreign
parents have said that they received blue ICs in Sabah through 'Project IC'
before applying for the late birth registration of their children, a court
official told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants here
today.
Foreigners got their IC
through a ‘Project IC’, the RCI was told today. Melissa Chia, a senior
registrar in the Kota Kinabalu High Court, testified today that the foreigners,
who were mostly Filipinos and Indonesians without Malaysian birth certificates,
made such applications for their children when she was working as a magistrate
in Tawau and Semporna since 2008.
“They say ‘I don’t have a
birth certificate because I got my IC through a ‘Project IC’,” Chia told the
RCI.
“They’ll say, ‘Oh well, when
I was working in the camps or timber industry, there’s a group of people who
give me a form to apply. So I followed and apply. I got my blue IC’,” she
added, when asked what the foreign parents meant by “Project IC”. (TMI)
Former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh denied today the existence of “Project IC”, where citizenship was allegedly given to immigrants for votes.
ReplyDeleteHarris, who administered Sabah from 1976 to 1985, stressed to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants here that he had no authority to give blue identity cards to immigrants.
ReplyDelete“As far as I know, officially or unofficially, there’s no ‘Project IC’,” Harris told the RCI. He said
ReplyDeleteProjek ic bukan isu baru lagi.
DeleteAsked why immigrants in Sabah seemed to be getting citizenship faster than other people, he said: The final authority is not with the state government. It’s with the federal government. That question should be posed to the federal government.
ReplyDeleteKes ini berkait dengan rasuah.
DeleteTun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s longest-serving prime minister who ruled from 1981 to 2003, has been repeatedly accused of spearheading “Project IC”.Although Tun Mahathir said that he did gave citizenship only if it is according to law and that the foreigners had lived more than 20 years with fluency in Bahasa Malaysia.
ReplyDeleteHarris also said that the Sabah state government had no authority to issue permanent residency to immigrants.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, the authority is with the federal government. The state government has no authority. We only assisted the individuals to fill the forms,” said the former Berjaya Party president.
ReplyDeleteHarris noted that former Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had said in the 1970s that Muslim refugees could stay in Malaysia, while non-Muslims could go to Australia, Europe or the United States.
ReplyDeleteAmong the policies adopted by the federal government was to grant citizenships to refugees in accordance with the United Nations charter, said Harris.
ReplyDeleteHarris also said that the federal government had never informed his administration of the number of immigrants in Sabah that were given blue identity cards.
ReplyDeletePemberian ic tidak mengikut prosedur dan undang-undang harus dikenakan tindakan.
DeleteThe former politician added that refugees were welcomed in the 1970s to accommodate the boom in the agricultural and construction industries in Sabah then.
ReplyDeleteWe were concerned if we don’t settle them, we can never improve Sabah...Filipinos are good construction workers,he said.
ReplyDeleteThe five-member panel inquiry, which is chaired by former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, are credible person to chair and investigate the illegal mykad and foreginer problems in Sabah, which is an initiative from the government Bn to solve the long awaited solution.
ReplyDeleteDatuk Dr Ewon Ebin said the formation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants and fake identification documents in Sabah announced by the Prime Minister is a huge gift.
ReplyDeleteState Rural Development Minister, Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin, said the RCI could be likened as a good harvest.
ReplyDeleteThe RCI, he said, is very important especially to provide answers to why the population in Sabah suddenly increased in just a short time.
ReplyDeleteRakyat juga jelas apakah yang sedang berlaku sebenarnya.
DeleteThe population in Sabah in the 1970s, he said, was only about 750,000 with the Kadazan, Dusun and Murut communities making up almost half the figure or 350,000.
ReplyDeleteBut the Census in 2010 showed that the population in Sabah has increased drastically but the KDM community numbered only about 750,000 when the combination of other races reached two million," he said.
ReplyDeleteIn this respect, he said the RCI would be useful in providing answers to the overwhelming number of illegal immigrants and also allegations concerning false documents.
ReplyDeleteWe hope that through the RCI, the issue of the sudden increase in Sabah's population and also false identification documents would be resolved.
ReplyDeletePATI harus hantar balik ke negara asal.
ReplyDeleteThe establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah, is a clear manifestation of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) sincerity to solve the problem once and for all.
ReplyDeletePrime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also BN chairman, said the RCI should be seen positively and credit should be given to BN for the move.
ReplyDelete“We cannot see the outcome based on one witness. There are about 167 witnesses who will be called. So, let us not jump into conclusion. Let the proceedings take place,” he told reporters.
Najib said giving citizenship as long as it was in accordance with the law was nothing wrong and many other countries were giving citizenship too.
ReplyDelete“Don’t tell me you don’t know, you know. Let us not make it an issue as long as you are doing that within the law of the country. Let the commission do its work and find out,” he replied.
“Please accept the RCI as a sincere attempt to solve this problem that has been the concern of many Sabahans. We have once and for all decided to solve this problem.
ReplyDelete“The request for the RCI was made by the BN components in Sabah and as the chairman of BN, I respect the request.”
Anwar Ibrahim awal awal lagi menafikan dirinya terlibat dalam RCI. Betul ke lu tak terlibat Anwar Ibrahim? Betul ke ni Nuar? Tunggu jelah Anwar Ibrahim, bila hang dipanggil nanti satu Malaysia nak tahu apa cerita yang lu sembunyikan.
ReplyDeleteSeorang saksi memberitahu Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) bagi menyiasat masalah pendatang tanpa izin di Sabah bahawa 446,173 pelarian dan pendatang tanpa izin telah diusir ke negara masing-masing sejak tahun 1990 sehingga sekarang.
ReplyDeletePengarah Pasukan Petugas Khas Persekutuan Sabah dan Labuan, Datuk Suhaimi Mohd Salleh berkata pelarian dan pendatang tanpa izin yang tidak mempunyai sebarang dokumen pula akan diserahkan kepada Jabatan Imigresen bagi proses pengusiran ke negara masing-masing antaranya Filipina.
ReplyDeleteSemasa diminta menjelaskan bagaimana beliau mendapat jumlah itu oleh bekas Hakim Besar Sabah dan Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong yang mempengerusikan suruhanjaya itu, Suhaimi berkata pihaknya mempunyai rekod itu.
ReplyDeleteSemasa ditanya pegawai pengendali Manoj Kurup, Suhaimi juga berkata pasukan itu ditubuhkan Kerajaan Persekutuan bagi membantu Unit Penempatan di bawah Jabatan Ketua Menteri (JKM) untuk menguruskan pendatang asing ke negeri itu yang semakin bertambah.
ReplyDeleteSuhaimi juga berkata hasil bancian pada 2007 di 32 unit penempatan pelarian terdapat 59,000 pelarian Filipina manakala sehingga 2010 pula mencatatkan 38,000 pelarian Filipina hasil bancian di 16 buah unit penempatan.
ReplyDeleteSaksi keempat Mokhtar Yassin Ajam yang bertugas sebagai setiausaha dalam negeri bahagian hal ehwal dan penyelidikan di JKM memberitahu suruhanjaya bahawa semakan yang dibuat antara 2007 hingga 2010 menunjukkan 33,019 pelarian Filipina berada di negeri ini dan daripada jumlah itu 15,000 adalah kanak-kanak.
ReplyDeleteBeliau yang bertugas di JKM sejak Okt 2005 itu berkata kanak-kanak itu merupakan generasi ketiga dan keempat pelarian Filipina yang datang ke negeri ini pada awal 1970.
ReplyDeleteSementara itu, bekas ketua menteri Sabah Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh menafikan wujudnya apa yang dipanggil "Projek IC" semasa beliau menjadi ketua menteri dari tahun 1976 hingga 1985.
ReplyDeleteBagaimanapun, Harris berkata walaupun kad pengenalan dikeluarkan dengan pantas, ia dibuat mengikut peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
ReplyDeleteSemasa ditanya Manoj supaya membacakan laporannya yang dikemukakan kepada RCI hari ini, Harris berkata antara dasar yang diterimapakai kerajaan Persekutuan adalah memberikan taraf kewarganegaraan kepada pelarian selaras dengan piagam Pertubuhan Bangsa Bersatu.
ReplyDeleteKetua Menteri Datuk Seri Musa Aman mengingatkan rakyat Sabah supaya tidak terpengaruh dengan taktik pembangkang yang cuba memberi bayangan seolah-olah Barisan Nasional (BN) negeri mula goyang dan berpecah berikutan tindakan beberapa pemimpin BN yang menyokong pembangkang.
ReplyDeleteBeliau berkata semua itu adalah tipu helah pembangkang semata-mata untuk meraih sokongan menjelang pilihan raya umum akan datang. Keadaan di Sabah sebenarnya tenang dan orang tertentu terutama pembangkang sahaja yang 'syok sendiri'.
ReplyDeleteRCI untuk Royalti Minyak Sabah ini sememangnya perlu dikaji semula. Yang pasti Datuk Musa telah pun menyuarakan perkara ini untuk disemak semula mengenai royalti minyak tersebut berikutan perkara ini sejak 1976 lagi tidak pernah disemak semula iaitu sebanyak 5%. Mungkin penyemakan ini akan memberikan berita yang gembira kepada penduduk Sabah.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan Negeri akan membuktikan kepada rakyat Sabah yang mana mereka benar-benar serius untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini dengan cara baik. Perbincangan dengan kerajaan Persekutuan sememangnya amat diperlukan bagi mendapat kata sepakat antara kedua-dua pihak. Maka sebagai rakyat, perlulah teruskan memberikan sokongan kepada Kerajaan kita terutama Kerajaan Negeri Sabah dibawah kepimpinan Datuk Musa Aman untuk memperjuangkan hak dan kepentingan penduduk Sabah.
ReplyDeletePelbagai usaha menyelesaikan masalah dibuat oleh Kerajaan Negeri Sabah. Setiap masalah yang datang pasti akan ada jalan penyelesaian. Sebagai contoh masalah serius yang sentiasa diambil perhatian seperti Masalah Rampasan Tanah Adat - Kerajaan memberikan Geran Komunal (masih tidak berkesan tapi sedang mencari jalan penyelesaian lain seperti penubuhan Tribunal Tanah Adat), Masalah PATI- Program 6p dan 5p dan juga yang terbaru ialah penubuhan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Di Raja (RCI) untuk menangani masalah PATI dan IC Projek.
ReplyDeleteJadi kita tidak patut memandang dan mendengar dari sebelah pihak saja mengenai perkara ini. Patut kita lihat dari kenyataan dan fakta sebenar dan bukan untuk kepentingan pihak tertentu saja. Jadi fikirkan sebaiknya sebelum mempercayai kata-kata pihak lain.
ReplyDeleteTindakan pembangkang mempolitikkan keterangan beberapa saksi pertama prosiding Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) mengenai pendatang tanpa izin di Sabah tidak akan membantu masyarakat negeri ini.
ReplyDeleteKetua Puteri Umno yang juga Anggota Parlimen Papar Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin berkata perbuatan mereka memilih keterangan seorang dua saksi bagi membangkitkan kebencian rakyat kepada kerajaan juga tidak adil kerana masih ada lebih 100 saksi bakal dipanggil
ReplyDelete"...sebagai rakyat Sabah, kita ingin masalah yang menghantui Sabah ini dapat diselesaikan secara baik.
ReplyDelete"Jangan ambil peluang ini mempolitikkan isu itu untuk mencetuskan kebencian rakyat terhadap kerajaan kerana ini tidak akan membantu mana-mana pihak pun termasuk rakyat Sabah sendiri," katanya.
ReplyDeleteTan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menempelak Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang sering berbohong kepada rakyat Sabah demi mencapai cita-cita peribadinya untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri.
ReplyDeleteTimbalan Perdana Menteri, berkata Anwar yang sering berkunjung ke Sabah secara lantang mengajak rakyat negeri ini mengubah kerajaan yang selama ini ditadbir secara baik oleh Barisan Nasional (BN).
ReplyDelete“Anwar berkali-kali datang ke Sabah dan cuba mengelirukan serta menipu rakyat Sabah dengan mengatakan BN sudah tumbang di Semenanjung... ini semua pembohongan besar.
ReplyDeletehal seperti ini amat membimbangkang. kita tak boleh biarkan projek IC terus berleluasa.
ReplyDelete