Sabah RCI to end on Thursday with NO ONE found responsible!

THE Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) starts its winding down on Thursday with former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appearing as its 210th witness followed by a few minor witnesses.

Sitting through the tail-end of the proceeding at the Kota Kinabalu High Court, one can fathom and cannot ignore the intricacies of politics in Sabah; the fear and the perception of the people; the manoeuvring; the pleading of ignorance by the authorities; and above all, the "dirty tricks" and confessions.

The hearing started on Jan 14 and was interrupted twice – after the Sulu invasion in Lahad Datu and the general election.

Among those who have testified are former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former deputy ministers Yahya Lampong and Aziz Shamsuddin and three former Sabah chief ministers.

Commentaries and analyses doubting the truthfulness of the testimony of some witnesses are comprehensible. The cynicism can be understood as some contradicted each other or blatantly denied their involvement.

But the bottom line is that the country has a crisis on its hands and an immediate and permanent solution must be found to contain the problem. The people of Sabah say they are justified in saying that they are "outsiders" in their own country.

With a long and porous coastline from the Sulu Sea and with no controls along the border with Indonesia, it is easy to enter Sabah by sea and land. Hence, the war between the Philippines armed forces and the Moro National Liberation Front forced many to flee Mindanao. However, not all were refugees seeking solace from the fighting and killing. Some came as economic migrants to seek their fortunes and to fill a void in the labour intensive plantation and construction industries.

Just as in other parts of the country, the business sector in Sabah is dependent on cheap foreign labour. However, this cannot justify little or no semblance of systematic recording of entry of foreigners or issuance of documents to regularise their stay or make them citizens.

Gleaning from some of the testimonies and records of proceedings, it is obvious to the common man that an exercise was undertaken to remove Pairin Kitingan's Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) from power after Berjaya and Usno were unseated in the 1985 elections.

Hence, the plan to give blue identity cards (IC) to immigrants so that they could register and vote to oust PBS. Four prominent names were mentioned in the course of proceedings – Dr Mahathir, former minister Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub, Aziz, and former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh.

Megat Junid has passed away and Harris declined to testify and the other two vehemently denied any knowledge of having taken part or they were instrumental in the issuance of ICs to foreigners.

After PBS left the BN in 1990, days before the state election, an operation was launched to increase the voter base. PBS won 36 out of 48 seats in the state assembly. In the subsequent election four years later, the PBS majority was reduced to two – 25 seats against BN's 23.

The PBS government lasted just a few weeks after a majority of its elected representatives defected to BN. Pairin sought to dissolve the state assembly and call for fresh elections but this was denied by the governor. He tendered his resignation as chief minister on March 24, 1994.

The exercise in deposing PBS involved creating "instant citizens" to be placed on the electoral rolls in constituencies where PBS had previously won by small majorities, former Sandakan chief district officer Hassnar Ebrahim told the commission.

The "instant" citizenship was only meant for a selected group for a selected purpose, but somewhere down the line, it took a different route, probably because of greed and power. If it had gone according to the script, the problems and issues associated with this could have been prevented, if not contained.

The proceedings have been widely reported and followed and claims and counter-claims have been made. However, the fact that more than 100,000 immigrants were granted citizenship and issued identity cards for registering and then voting in elections has never been disputed.

Successive chief ministers – Pairin, Yong Teck Lee, Bernard Dompok and Chong Kah Kiat had brought the issue to the attention of the federal government but no action was then taken. This could be construed as a silent nod as the immigrant population increased.

No one knows the exact number of immigrants in the state and judging by the documents that they carry – issued by different departments – there can only be estimates.

The National Registration Department's (NRD) director-general, Datuk Jariah Mohd, said only a fraction of the more than 110,000 ICs issued had been checked and verified.

So, on record, there are about 105,000 immigrants with dubious or problematic ICs issued by the NRD. Add the other various forms of documentation.

The types of documents held by immigrants are:

» Identity cards issued by NRD without supporting documents or those which are doubtful;

» Identity cards purportedly issued by errant NRD officers of which there are no records;

» Fake or forged identity cards;

» Kad burung burung;

» Kad polis;

» Kad expo;

» IM13 – which allows foreigners to remain in the country as long as they hold proper work passes;

» Kad banci; and

» Kad suntikan (a card which certifies that the holder has been administered the various vaccines at birth)

According to statistics available, Sabah had a population of 636,000 in 1970 and in 2000, the population grew to 2.5 million – a whopping increase of 260%. It is estimated that the present population is 3.2 million.

Besides the issuance of these "legitimate" ICs, tens of thousands of ICs were clandestinely issued supposedly by errant NRD officers, for which they were detained under the ISA. There is also a third category of "fake" ICs purportedly sold by "syndicates" to immigrants.

This assertion was supported Sabah NRD director-general Ismail Ahmad, who told the inquiry that forged identity cards are widespread in the state.

"I don't remember the exact numbers, but almost every two weeks there will be cases of people being caught with forged identity cards," he said. (One witness at the RCI turned up with a forged IC.)

Locals say that there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants without any documentation and the numbers could exceed one million. They contend that immigrants have "taken over the state" including small businesses, markets and the like. Some have acquired land and some of them even enjoy privileges which are only accorded to locals. Others have taken over villages and built their own colonies.

The Sabah Law Association (SLA) went as far as suggesting that the sovereignty of the country is being threatened by the presence of immigrants.

But there's another issue looming and could corroborate the fear raised by the association. NRD officer, Kee Dzulkifly Kee Abdul Jalil testified that about 200,000 birth certificates had been issued between 1990 and 1992 to children of immigrants. This gives the holders carte blanche to apply for identity cards when they attain the age of 12.

So, how will this problem be solved? Jariah suggested that an amnesty be declared and that the holders of dubious ICs come forward to have their papers "legalised". Aptly, the question from the SLA was: "What happens if all of them don't come forward?"

"We can set up a task force to track down these people," was the cryptic reply.

"They are stateless people. They can't go back to the Philippines … Will they be taken back?"

Tuaran MP Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said the government should take back identity cards given to foreigners in Sabah and that the entire system of issuing ICs be overhauled.

But the Special Laboratory on Management of Foreign Workers in Sabah came out with what can be an acceptable solution.

It recommends that all immigrants be issued with a resident's pass. With this document, they can get an education in Malaysian schools and continue to work and stay in Sabah. The resident pass must be renewed annually.

Their status, however, will always be "immigrant in Sabah" and they will not be eligible to apply for a permanent resident (PR) status.

This is because only a person with PR status can apply to be a citizen but the holder of a resident pass will not be able to do so.

The RCI concludes its hearing on Friday after which it will sit and write its findings in accordance with its terms of reference (see below). It is not an easy task going through the transcripts of more than 210 witnesses. Perusing more than 180 voluminous documents including books will take time.

Its findings will change the political landscape and provide some leads into what happened – legally or otherwise – and why the face and future of Sabah changed so dramatically over three decades.

Hopefully, it will identify the crooks and exonerate those who have been wrongly vilified and provide coherent answers that most Malaysians are asking:

Who should be held responsible for this mess which has been the cause of so much acrimony, hostility, bitterness and ill-will among the legitimate citizens of this blessed land?

» To investigate the number of foreigners in Sabah given blue Malaysian ICs or citizenships;

» To investigate if the award of such ICs or citizenships were according to the law;

» To investigate if those given blue ICs, temporary identification receipts or citizenships through unlawful means have been registered in Sabah's electoral roll;

» To investigate if the authorities have taken any action or made improvements to standard operating procedures (SOPs), methods and regulations to prevent any irregularities in accordance with the law;

» To conduct a deeper probe into the SOPs, methods and regulations on the award of blue ICs or citizenships to foreigners in Sabah by taking into consideration international norms and standards that are applicable to Malaysia, and to recommend amendments or changes to improve current practices;

» To investigate the reasons behind Sabah's population growth according to the following categories:

a) Sabah citizens residing in the state, including those given blue ICs or citizenships through birth certificates (late registration);

b) foreign workers (including family members);

c) illegal immigrants (including family members); and

d) fugitives and to study their impact on the number of those registered in the electoral roll;

» To investigate the social implications on the Sabah community following the award of blue ICs or citizenships to foreigners in the state; and

» To investigate the number of "stateless" foreigners in Sabah given blue ICs or citizenships.

The Sundaily