Dr M says not responsible for illegal award of citizenships

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today absolved himself of responsibility over claims that citizenships were illegally given out to foreigners in Sabah in the past, maintaining that the “order” was merely for those who qualified.

The former prime minister, who has been repeatedly blamed for spearheading “Projek IC”, a 1980s initiative where Malaysian citizenships were allegedly exchanged for votes for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), repeated that the pre-requisite for such an award was for an individual to reside in Malaysia for a certain duration of time, among other requirements.

“I agree that we can give citizenships to people who have lived here a certain length of time and who qualifies to become citizens,” he told reporters after a book launch at Universiti Malaya.

But Dr Mahathir (picture) then added that while this is true, he could not have had total control over what was actually implemented on the ground during his tenure as prime minister.

“What happened on the ground, I can’t be responsible,” he said. “But the order is given for them to give citizenships to those who qualify.”

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