RCI on Sabah illegals does not include identifying those responsible...

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim suggested today that the government had deliberately refused to have the Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probe those responsible for the alleged “citzenships-for-votes” deal with foreigners in order to protect certain personalities.

The opposition leader (picture) said the entire RCI was flawed as its terms were lacking details and do not include identifying those responsible or recommending punishment on them.

“These are major criminal acts, particularly when it involves corruption and cheating and falsifying documents... these are serious flaws, but of course, these are not part of the RCI’s terms of reference,” he told reporters after a function announcing the crossover of another senior Barisan Nasional (BN) here.

The newly-established RCI on Sabah’s illegal immigrants has been tasked to investigate if foreigners in the state have been unlawfully awarded Malaysian ICs or citizenships and included in the electoral roll.

But the panel’s terms, announced in Kota Kinabalu yesterday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, do not include a probe to identify those involved in handing out citizenships unlawfully.

The opposition have often laid blame on former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the state’s extraordinary spike in migrant population, claiming he had spearheaded “Project IC” or “Projek M”.

The “Projek IC” initiative was purportedly kicked off in the early 1980s during Dr Mahathir’s tenure to give out Malaysian ICs to illegal immigrants in Sabah, in order to help the ruling BN stay in power.

“Yes, it seems Dr Mahathir is clearly nervous about the RCI,” Anwar said here.

“But they (BN) must have given their assurance that they will not pick at who is at fault, who are the people taking money or falsifying documents and why... so that means the entire RCI is just flawed,” he said.

Anwar added that Sabah voters were likely to have little regard for the RCI, noting the government’s years of refusal to set up the panel.

He pointed out that the decades-old problem could not be so easily resolved within the six months deadline given to the panel to make its recommendations to the government.

The PKR de facto leader suggested that the RCI was merely a political ploy, referring to its formation so close to the coming polls, and added that like the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms, the panel was unlikely to solve Sabah’s problem with illegal immigrants.

“This is just like a gimmick. They (the government) are not serious. I believe most Sabahans would not have any regard for this RCI because they have learned from the past on how their request to form the panel was not heeded,” he said.

Najib’s announcement on the RCI’s reference terms yesterday comes just two weeks after the twin exits of two senior Sabah BN lawmakers – Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing and Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin.

Both men cited their dissatisfaction with the government’s delay on the RCI, which the Cabinet had already agreed to form on February 8 this year.

In Sabah, the problem of illegal immigrants has been dominating every election since 1970 as the local natives believe that foreigners are to blame for the state’s economic, social and security problems.

Some 27 per cent of Sabah’s 3.12 million population are said to be foreigners.- malaysian insider

RCI on Sabah: Another of those Much Thunder No Rain Initiatives.

Pegawai JPN dedah projek IC Sabah

Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja PATI Sabah: Janji ditepati atau janji terang bulan?

Terlalu banyak keraguan tentang pengumuman terma rujukan  Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) mengenai pendatang tanpa izin (PATI) di Sabah.

Ini menimbulkan persoalan sama ada kerajaan Barisan Nasional benar-benar serius untuk menangani masalah itu atau sekadar menabur janji kosong yang telah menjadi budaya politik parti pemerintah, semata-mata untuk menang dalam pilihanraya umum akan datang.

Ketua Parlimen DAP Lim Kit Siang berkata, pengumuman tentang RCI tersebut serta terma rujukannya adalah sudah terlalu lewat dan mempunyai kuasa yang amat terhad untuk mengatasi masalah.

Menurutnya, pengumuman yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri Najib Razak tentang terma rujukan RCI tidak menyatakan dengan jelas apa yang boleh dan tidak boleh dilakukan oleh RCI tersebut.

Katanya, isu kad pengenalan yang dikatakan diberi kepada PATI untuk membolehkan mereka menjadi pengundi bukan hanya masalah besar di Sabah tetapi masalah kepada Malaysia.

Justeru, beliau mempersoalkan tindakan kerajaan BN mengapa tidak ada siasatan di peringkat nasional tentang masalah itu yang bakal mengancam keselamatan negara.

Kit Siang juga bertanya sama ada RCI tersebut sanggup menyiasat mereka yang bertanggungjawab mengeluarkan kad pengenalan tersebut, sama ada yang sahih tetapi diperolehi dengan cara yang salah atau dokumen-dokumen palsu.

Beliau turut mempersoalkan kerajaan BN yang telah menolak usul beliau di Parlimen pada tahun 2008 yang mencadangkan penubuhan RCI tersebut.

Selain itu, Kit Siang turut bertanya sama ada RCI tersebut berkuasa untuk menyiasat apa yang dikatakan sebagai “Projek M” atau “Projek IC” serta memanggil bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sebagai saksi terhadap masalah PATI yang melanda Sabah.

Projek M merujuk kepada situasi di mana ratusan ribu kad pengenalan Malaysia dikatakan telah diberikan kepada PATI untuk membolehkan mereka menjadi warganegara tanpa perlu melalui proses perundangan, dan tujuannya adalah untuk menjadikan PATI sebagai pengundi untuk BN. Keadaan itu dikatakan berterusan berlaku sejak 20 tahun lalu.

Sementara itu, Dr Mahathir telah dilaporkan oleh media bahawa RCI yang diumumkan oleh Najib adalah tidak perlu.

Katanya, PATI berhak meminta menjadi warganegara Malaysia dan beliau tidak mahu sebarang usaha dilakukan untuk menyiasat mereka.

“Mereka berhak minta kerakyatan. Saya harap kita tak ada usaha untuk keluarkan mereka. RCI sebenarnya tidak perlu. Kerajaan akan bermasalah jika mengetahui sebarang keputusan suruhanjaya itu,” katanya, sebagaimana yang dilaporkan oleh Malaysiakini. – Roketkini.com

cheers.