Sabah Umno: We never objected to RCI

Has Sabah Umno finally relented over an RCI to investigate the population 'explosion' in Sabah or is it just another 'smoke screen'?

KOTA KINABALU:  Sabah Umno has denied that it was against the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the exponential increase in illegal immigrants in the state.

The denial is somewhat at odds with its previous silent stand on the issue.

But according to  Sabah Umno information chief,  Sapawi Ahmad, the party had “never” objected to the setting up of RCI on the issue.

“The issue of Sabah Umno objecting to the setting of the RCI never arose. Sabah Umno has no objection to the setting up of the RCI by the federal government.

“In fact in 2008, Sabah Umno submitted a memorandum to then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi detailing various issues that required the federal government’s immediate attention and one of the issues was the increasing foreign nationals in the state.

“We had in the memorandum urged the federal government to take proactive measures to manage the increasing numbers,” he said.

Sapawi said it was not Sabah Umno who decides on whether to conduct an RCI or not.

“The decision to conduct an RCI is an administrative decision of the federal government,” he said, pointing out that Umno parliamentarians from Sabah had infact accepted the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which had adopted a resolution to set up an RCI for Sabah.

But Umno was not present at a two-day PSC hearing held in Kota Kinabalu in November last year.

All other BN partners and opposition party representatives pressed their case for an RCI to be included in the PSC recommendations.

RCI costly to Umno
The call for an RCI in Sabah was eventuatlly included as part of the 10 recommendations  made by the PSC in relation to electoral reforms.

Although the Election Commission has ‘responded positively’ to seven of the PSC’s recommendations, there’s still no word on the RCI for Sabah.

Sabahans are doubtful that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would agree to a ‘genuine’ RCI for Sabah.

Because a ‘genuine’ RCI will be costly to Umno, its leaders and the thousands of illegal immigrants who have since obtained MyKads and are Sabah Barisan Nasional’s ‘fixed deposit’.

So Sapawi’s denial that Umno is supportive of an RCI rings hollow and comes a little too late in the day, especially with a looming general election.

Well-known Sabah consumerism activist, Patrick Sindu, best summed it up when he said: “If they (BN leaders) are serious about solving this perennial issue, they should have done it long time before as this matter concerned national security.”

“Foreigners were issued with Malaysian MyKads and drafted into our electoral rolls by none other than Umno itself,” he said.

Upko welcomes Umno’s support
However Sabah Umno’s support for the RCI was today welcomed by United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko).

Describing the move as long over due, Upko deputy information chief Sualim Gopog said it was a crucial milestone toward eventual resolution of the illegal immigrants issue and the extraordinary increase in the population in Sabah.

“The Umno support for the setting up of an RCI is indeed historic, and it will certainly become the watershed for the eventual resolution of the longstanding issues of illegal immigrants, particularly Project IC and the extraordinary increase in the population of Sabah.

“Upko hopes that the latest stand taken by Sabah Umno will mark an enhanced commitment by the ruling party to inculcate integrity in leadership and good governance,” he said in a statement here today.