Upko dares Warisan to withdraw, review ICs issued to foreigners

PETALING JAYA: Upko has called on Parti Warisan Sabah to take the lead in tackling the state’s “Project IC” problem, allegedly created by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said Warisan should promise in its election manifesto to withdraw and review the identity cards issued to foreigners.

Upko president Wilfred Madius Tangau said Warisan president Shafie Apdal should take the lead by starting a campaign and petition on the initiative in his own parliamentary constituency of Semporna.

“I would also want (Warisan deputy president) Darrel Leiking to promise that pulling back and re-registering ICs will be the top item in Warisan’s manifesto for the upcoming election (GE14).

“He should launch this manifesto in Semporna too,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The science, technology and innovation minister said this when rebutting Leiking who had apparently come to the defence of Mahathir, who is PPBM and Pakatan Harapan chairman, following Tangau’s criticism on the matter.

On Jan 8, Tangau said Sabahans would never forget the role of Mahathir, who ruled the country from 1981 to 2003, in Project IC.

He said after the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the matter, Mahathir openly admitted to being responsible and was even proud to have carried out Project IC.

Earlier yesterday, Leiking said the people should also consider why, even after Mahathir resigned 15 years ago, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had still not resolved the problem.

He said Mahathir may have been the perpetrator or even the mastermind of the project but Sabahans should not forget that Upko had benefited from it also when it threw its support behind Mahathir in 1994 and in the elections after that.

He said the BN component party had consistently campaigned for BN, which means they had been urging the people of Sabah to continue supporting Mahathir and Project IC.

Tangau said he took heed of Leiking’s criticism although he had no idea why the opposition leader had suddenly “come out to defend” Mahathir by hitting out at his statement.

“Upko has always been opposed to Project IC. We do not need Warisan to tell us what to do. Warisan should walk the talk and put into action whatever they have said.

“Warisan may have forgiven Tun Mahathir for Project IC but Upko will not,” he added.

Project IC is the name used to describe the allegation of systematic granting of citizenship to immigrants (whether legal or otherwise) by giving them identity cards or MyKad.

The RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah in 2013 did not deny the existence of the project but the commission absolved the government of ever creating Project IC and instead blamed corrupt officials and syndicates for creating the problem. -FMT