RCI, NAJIB HEARD BUT DID NOT LISTEN?

By : DR CHONG ENG LEONG

TAN SRI Bernard Giluk Dompok said in Keningau on 11 Nov 2012: “Sabah had been appealing for RCI for years to find a permanent solution to the illegal immigrant problems and now it has been formed....Sceptics said it should be completed before the elections ... what is waiting a little while longer? People should come forward & help with the inquiry to set things right. Najib sees and hears the people ... thus the RCI.”

Najib heard but he did not listen – he knew about the illegals in Sabah since at least year 2000 when as a Defence Minister he said publicly in KK that the illegals in Sabah was serious, and in 2005 as DPM he said in KK that Federal Government was taking serious attention regarding these illegals in Sabah.

In 2006 as DPM and as the Chairman of the reformed Federal Cabinet Committee on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah he said in Sandakan that the illegals in Sabah was “in a big problem”. (This Committee was first formed in 2000.)

In 2008 Najib was again made Chairman of the said Committee as if such Committee had never existed. But hardly any meeting at all. Obviously the Federal Cabinet heard the Sabah’s illegals’ problem but refused to listen, including Dompok.

Dompok said in year 2000 that Federal Government realised the seriousness of the illegal immigrants in Sabah and that because of internal political upheavals and strained relationship between State and Federal hampered efforts to resolve the problems. UMNO/BN had been governing Sabah since 1994 – were there upheavals and strained relationship between Sabah and Federal governments that stopped the Federal Government to agree to set up the long awaited RCI?

PBS had asked for the RCI since 1996 and UPKO soon after that. PBS returned to BN in 2002. Year after year both PBS and UPKO in BN had to appeal and appeal for the RCI – why only in February 2012 Federal Cabinet agreed to set up this RCI and took them nine months before the Commissioners received their appointment letters? This RCI is just another attempt by the Federal Government to once again fool us Sabahans.

The TOR for this RCI are not meant to solve the problems and Dompok should know it:

Term (1) is to investigate the number of foreign migrants who obtained Sabah blue IC or citizenship;

Term (2) is to investigate if these foreign migrants got the blue IC or citizenship legally;

There were more than 700,000 Project IC citizens (foreign migrants who obtained Sabah blue IC or citizenship) in 2010 if we analyse the facts and figures since 1960 as stated by the Dept of Statistics Malaysia, Sabah.

Dompok knew that the foreign migrants did not get the blue IC and citizenship legally – it was illegal to state in the Sijil Akuan that applicants (foreign migrants) were born in Sabah when in fact not. Dompok knew because he had heard testimonies from public and briefings from NRD when he was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity in 2006.

He knew that the power that be ordered the NRD not to cooperate with the Committee when probing into the mechanics of the issuance of the blue IC or citizenship to foreign migrants; and he had to resign from the chairmanship.

Term (3) is to investigate these foreign migrants, after been given the blue IC or citizenship illegally, if they are registered in the electoral rolls.

The RCI would certainly find out that illegally obtained blue IC or citizenship by the foreign migrants were registered in the electoral rolls – my Likas election petition in 1999 had proven that. But the TOR does not allow them to find out how many registered. There are more than 200,000 of them in the current Sabah electoral rolls of almost one million voters. There goes our sovereignty.

Investigate only and no power to recommend any thing – how “to find a permanent solution” as stated by Dompok?

Terms (4) and (5) are ridiculous: “to investigate if the relevant authorities have taken necessary action or improved the standard operation procedure (SOP), methods and regulations to avoid any irregularity from the legal aspect; and take into consideration the international standards and norms applicable to Malaysia and to recommend amendments or changes with view to further strength them.”

Federal Government did not follow the SOP but purposely looked for foreigner migrants and illegally issued them blue IC and citizenship through falsified Sijil Akuan by stating that they were born in Sabah when in fact not. If SOP was not followed – how to take action to improve it?

Term (6), amongst others, states: “to study the effect of those who are registered in the electoral rolls”.

As a KDM leader Dompok should know why in 1999 the State Constituencies of Sook and Langkom were removed and replaced by Senallang and Kalabakan in Tawau Residency. Dompok should know also why in 2004 when 12 new State seats were created, 8 of them were in areas with huge concentration of these foreign migrants who were given blue IC and citizenship.

The effect is obvious and Dompok knows it – the indigenous people of Sabah forever will be controlled by these foreign-migrants-turned citizens politically. Yet Dompok wants us Sabahans to vote for UMNO/BN – search your soul Dompok if you have one.

Term (7) states: “to investigate the social implication arising from the issuance of blue IC or citizenship to foreign migrants on Sabah community.”

Does Dompok, as a leader of Sabah indigenous community, have to be told of the social implication by this large number of foreign migrants becoming instant Malaysian in Sabah? They claim to be Anak Negeri Sabah also, with all the Hak Warisan Adat accorded to them.

Their number now has already out-numbered the genuine Natives of Sabah. The original Anak Negeri are feeling the pinch and in no time will be pushed into oblivion. The UMNO/BN government is still recruiting foreigners to give them blue MyKad and register them into electoral rolls.

Please wake up Dompok – you still want to vote in UMNO/BN who will have more phantom voters for PRU14 with new electoral boundaries? How are you going to answer to your ancestors and future generations?