Another cop out: Mahathir turns Najib into a pile of jelly over Sabah RCI

Now, we have heard it all i.e. if there's nothing more to come from you know who - Malaysia's unelected Prime Minister Najib Razak, also known for his corrupt GuaTolong Lu, LuTolong Gua (You scratch my back, I scratch yours) comment and for being the Great Vacillator.

Why the public ticking-off? Because the PM went on public record on February 24, 2012, to mumble if not grumble that the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah is "still under consideration". Now, after making so many promises and assurances, such a flip-flop is the outside of enough and it was only natural that this 'wishy-washiness' sparked a slew of 'complaints-momplaints' from all around.

Accusations are also flying that the U-turn was due to his fear and subservience to Mahathir Mohamad, whom many regard as the real de-facto prime minister in the country and Najib, the despot's puppet.

Najib's apologists, taking the cue from him, have rushed to sing in unison that no, the PM is not being his usual clueless self just because Mahathir -  the architect of the illegal migrant problem in Sabah - had shot down the RCI. Mahathir, they assure, is not responsible for the alleged foot-dragging on this political hot potato. Err, then so who is?

The Great Whitewash

Chipping in to help the BN out, Federal Minister Bernard Giluk Dompok claims that the mechanics of the RCI are being worked out. If so, why not announce first that the RCI will be set up? Dompok thinks that we were all born yesterday and wouldn't notice the contradiction in his statement. Is he expecting, under his son's name, another big chunk of the Petronas gas pipeline contract from Kimanis to Bintulu?

Anyone who knows Mahathir will swear that Najib's political master is no doubt mulling over a Great Whitewash which will wash away his sins against the people of Sabah in the process.

Najib had earlier assured solemnly, and not just once, that the Federal Cabinet had accepted and approved the institution of the RCI. These assurances were made through Sabah Federal Ministers. They happily entertained the local media with what transpired during two Federal Cabinet meetings when the RCI matter was discussed. According to them, the Federal Cabinet was unanimous in its decision that the RCI should be instituted as soon as possible but left it to Najib to make the announcement.

They even said the Federal Cabinet also wanted the deliberations of the RCI completed and its Final Report made public before the 13^th General Election which Najib keeps delaying and chickening out on. Many people took their words for granted despite their lack of locus standi on the issue.

But in the end, all that Sabahans got was a disgraceful federal about-turn, a flip-flip of gigantic magnitude! What can one expect when the federal ministers did not resign, as required by the Constitution, when Najib's predecessor Abdullah Badawi literally fled for dear life under pressure from Mahathir, who wanted the baton to be handed over to the more malleable Najib? How can men like these who can't stand up for themselves stand up others?

The fact is that Mahathir, the prime minister from 1981 to 2003, and currently the de facto PM still wields tremendous power. He can reduce Najib to a pile of jelly with just a sneer. Umno circles buzz with talk that Mahathir has a Big Black Book(BBB) of everybody's sins, and Najib and the entire Umno Supreme Council, as a consequence in his pocket.

Najib all set to 'announce' RCI in Sabah but chickened out at 11th hour

Najib had even been expected to announce the RCI during his recent visit to Sabah, "his" Fixed Deposit state - increasingly less so now - along with Sarawak. It was even suggested, ironically, that the announcement would be made in the illegal immigrant-infested Tungku, the capital of 'Pilakstan' which occupies 306, 000 acres in Lahad Datu seized in 1990 by Felda from Native landowners.

'Pilakstan' is almost the 2nd Federal Territory, after Labuan, in Sabah.  Pilak is the local Muslim term in Sabah for illegal immigrants from the Philippines. However, illegal immigrants from Indonesia and elsewhere - mostly Pakistan and Bangladesh - are also an equally worrying problem in the state.

Najib has to stop vacillating and decide between Mahathir and the people of Sabah. Sabahans can't be held to ransom on the RCI just because of Mahathir's BBB. The fact that Mahathir is likely to be found guilty as hell on the influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah is the basis for the RCI. This fact, however unpalatable, must be the basis for the RCI.

Mahathir's name is on the lips of every illegal immigrant in Sabah, from Pakistan and Bangladesh to Philippines and Indonesia. The RCI cannot, and must not, be used as an excuse to do a whitewash job which will leave Mahathir and his comrades in crime having the last laugh at the expense of the long-suffering people of Sabah.

Sabahans will never be satisfied until Mahathir brought to book

Najib's idea, expounded previously in the media, that the purpose of the RCI must not be to find fault and apportion blame if not look for scapegoats, is totally unacceptable and must be rejected outright. The unelected PM needs to have his head examined for suggesting something so blasphemous and sacrilegious.

Mahathir must be grilled and interrogated on the entire mechanism which remains a threat to Sabah and national security. The main thrust of his testimony should the workings of the secret units within the Prime Minister's Department, the Home Ministry, the National Registration Department and the Election Commission which issued local birth certificates and MyKads to illegal immigrants in Sabah and placed them on the electoral rolls.

The illegal immigrants were not only placed in marginal seats before 1994 but used after that year to create an additional 12 state seats and five parliamentary seats.

This is the Mother of All Issues on illegal immigrants in Sabah. The RCI would be a meaningless exercise, a Great Whitewash, if this core issue is glossed over and/or ignored.

That would be a grave injustice indeed. Injustice for the people of Sabah and a grave for the BN in the coming general election!

Malaysia Chronicle