KOTA KINABALU: Repeated denials by Putrajaya of the socially destructive “Project IC scheme” which enabled hundreds and thousands of illegal immigrants acquire MyKad could cripple the Barisan Nasional (BN) in Sabah, a senior coalition member has warned.
“Sabahans will express their anger through their ballots in the next general election…,” Upko deputy president Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing said.
He said that Upko could not accept Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s rejection of the party’s call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the Sabah’s immigration problem.
He said that Hishammuddin should explain why he rejected Upko president Bernard Dompok’s call to set up a RCI on the issuance of Malaysian identity cards to foreigners.
Hishammuddin yesterday reportedly said that the RCI, as proposed by Dompok, who is also the Commodities and Plantation Industries Minister, would not solve the problem.
“The commission will not bring us anywhere because we want a solution.
“We want something that is practical, something that can be resolved, a balance between economic and security requirement,” he added.
But Bumburing demanded an explanation from Hishammuddin today.
“Hishammuddin must tell Sabahans what he meant by saying the government wants something that’s practical, something that can be resolved and balanced between economic and security requirement.”
No let-up on issue
Bumburing, who is Tuaran MP, said the continued rejection by the government on Sabah’s call for the setting up of a RCI to look into immigration problems, particularly the issuance of MyKads to non-Malaysians under Project IC, gave the impression that the federal government has something to hide.
“People in Sabah and Malaysia as a whole are under the impression that there is something being hidden from them and they are demanding for an explanation.
He said the home minister and the national government must be made aware that the continued denial of the existence of the project would lead to an exodus of support for the BN in the state in the coming general election.
He added that Hishammuddin’s statement over the issue mocked the intelligence of Malaysians in Sabah.
He said the federal government seemed to be callous in refusing to understand that Sabahans view the issue as crucial to their survival, especially when someone holding a MyKad has daringly declared himself as the sultan of another country.
“Surely this must be something serious enough for the government to set up a RCI,” Bumburing said, referring to the recent move by local businessman Mohd Akjan Ali declaring himself as the 33rd sultan of Sulu on Feb 2.
“In the last parliamentary sitting, I handed over to the home ministry a memorandum containing proof that there exist foreigners who have managed to obtain Malaysian ICs.
“These foreigenrs were now citizens of this country and have registered as voters and are members of Malaysian political parties, ” he said .
Cautioning the government that the matter was not at an end just because it refused to set up a RCI, Bumburing said he would continue to raise the issue at every opportunity.
“I have called for the immediate revocation of all ICs issued to foreigners through dubious means.
“I will continue to bring this matter up in every parliamentary session until the federal government takes concrete steps to solve what I and other leaders have called the ‘mother of all problem”,” he added. - FMT
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