Majority of voters unhappy with ‘Project IC’ as Sabah RCI continues

An independent poll shows that 86 per cent of voters in Peninsular Malaysia disagreed with the government’s past action that has seen the foreign population boom in the Borneo state and earned it the moniker ‘Project IC’. – Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 – Nearly nine out of 10 voters disagree with Putrajaya’s past moves in granting citizenship to Indonesians and Filipinos to live and vote in Sabah, according to the latest voter survey amid an ongoing royal investigation into the flood of foreigners there for the past 20 years.

Independent pollster Merdeka Center For Opinion Research, which surveyed 1,021 voters in Peninsular Malaysia at the end of January, reported today 86 per cent saying they disagreed with the government’s past action that has seen the foreign population boom in the Borneo state and earned it the moniker “Project IC”.

The survey also found 60 per cent of voters saying they believed a large number of foreigners were still getting the blue-coloured identity cards marking their status as citizens.

The longstanding issue of illegal immigrants that has continued unchecked for decades has turned emotive among Sabah natives like the Kadazandusun and Murut communities, many of whom feel that the state has been robbed of its sovereignty through the massive influx of foreigners from neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia.

More than a quarter of Sabah’s population are foreigners, totalling a staggering 889,000 out of the 3.2 million-strong population in Sabah, or about 28 per cent, based on a 2010 census.

Sabah has 926,638 voters, according to a June report in English-language daily The Star.

The large number of foreigners has also worried Sabah natives, who often blame them for the rise in crime and for stealing job opportunities.

More than 100 armed Filipino gunmen intruded into Lahad Datu on February 9, claiming ties with a Sulu sultanate that gives them ownership of Sabah. They have since refused to leave.

Recognising the political significance of Sabah’s illegals problem, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had agreed to form a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to look into it.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenship was allegedly given to immigrants for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, has denied at the RCI of the existence of “Project IC”.

Dr Mahathir told a press conference last month that foreigners in Sabah had indeed received citizenship, but stressed that it was “within the law”.

The inquiry before a five-member panel led by former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong resumes on March 5.

The January 23 to February 6 survey, which was funded internally by the Merdeka Center, aimed to gauge voters’ perceptions of issues in the run up to the 13th general election due soon. It had a margin error of three per cent.

The research house said the survey took place after the January 12 People’s Uprising rally backed by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders in the national capital here as well as the ongoing media coverage of the Sabah citizenship-for-votes royal inquiry.

It noted that other issues that formed the talking point to its survey included carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan’s and former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s statements controversial statements against the government, and the “Allah” religious dispute.