The figures pertaining to fake ICs have ranged from 50,000 to 500,000 but estimates are that the figure is below 500,000. Multiple fake ICs had been issued to the same illegal individual while other illegals had returned to their respective countries and the rest were in West Malaysia.
KUCHING: The wait to resolve the long-standing issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah being indiscriminately issued Malaysian identity cards (IC) continues.
The report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on immigrants in Sabah due for submission in December last year seems to be still a work in progress having been granted another extension after its March 24, 2014 deadline lapsed.
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee took a pragmatic approach stating that “I am willing to give the RCI panel a chance to cover all aspects of the report as it is not easy to work on the massive amount of evidence available and what recommendations to give.”
According to Yong, a former Sabah chief minister, the figures pertaining to fake ICs have ranged from 50,000 to 500,000 but estimates are that the figure is below 500,000.
In some cases, multiple fake ICs had been issued to the same illegal individual while other illegals had returned to their respective countries and the rest were in West Malaysia.
“During my witness testimony, I was also asked about solutions on how to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants who are holding Malaysia ICs, some of whom have been staying in Sabah for decades,” said Yong, who was in Kuching recently as a speaker for “Forum: Malaysia Agreement 1963 – Past, Present and Future”.
“The RCI is looking at many aspects and numerous solutions to solve the problem plaguing Sabah and one of the solutions I put forth is that the Sabah state government issues its own ICs for Malaysians in Sabah. It is not something new. In the past, Sabah and Sarawak issued ICs before the formation of Malaysia.
“My point is that any document obtained through fraudulent means is by law null and void. It is a fraudulent representation to the National Registration Department if false information is given in terms of place of birth and other personal details.
“I suspect that the RCI is going to take that path being politically neutral and going by the law. Whether the government will actually implement the procedure and question the dubious IC holders one by one is another matter but it can be done,” said Yong who is a lawyer.
He has been pushing for the state to issue its own identity cards for legitimate Malaysians in Sabah including those from West Malaysia, Sarawak and other states who had legitimately settled in Sabah.
During Yong’s testimony, RCI chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, taking into consideration that he is a former CM, specifically asked Yong to file a written submission on the mechanism to issue Sabah ICs, which he did.
There was also a question asked on how to distinguish between a local Sabahan born in Sabah and an illegal immigrant because both could speak the same language.
“Obviously being Sabahans, we know and can distinguish genuine locals and these illegal immigrants. You can tell by their accents and behaviour whether they are locals or not.
“First thing to ask is which kampung is he from, who is the ‘orang tua’, which school did he go to. Naturally if he is genuinely from Sabah, he would have gone to a primary school; who was the headmaster, who were his classmates etc. So if they can’t answer some of these basic questions, they are already suspects.
“However, an illegal immigrant who obtains a dubious MyKad and goes from Sabah to KL, it is difficult for West Malaysians to determine whether he is a genuine Malaysian from Sabah or otherwise. Presently ICs are being issued in Putrajaya to people who are not even in Sabah,” Yong added.
“SAPP’s main platform is pushing for Sabah’s autonomy within Malaysia as well as advocating ‘one country two systems’.
“We will partner any other parties if the themes are consistent with our struggle for autonomy including any NGOs, human rights activists or individual movement,” he said.
Yong warned that if the status quo remains, the future of Sabah would stay in the orchestrating hands that chose to assist Filipinos and Indonesians obtain Malaysian citizenship.
“Since the government does not want to tackle this problem, we have to do it, using our own mechanisms. Putrajaya can keep them in Peninsular Malaysia and subject them to the laws there,” he added.
Yong was optimistic that RCI would adopt the principles of law in order to address the problem of fake IC holders by declaring them null and void based on fraudulent representation of information.
The RCI, established in August 2012, commenced public hearings in January 2013 and heard testimonies from 211 witnesses covering eight terms of reference including investigating the number of foreigners issued Malaysian ICs, whether issuance was according to law, whether they had been registered in the Sabah electoral roll and other social implications.
The RCI panel commissioners are Shim, former Sabah Attorney-General Herman Luping, Universiti Malaya Sabah vice-chancellor Kamaruzaman Ampon, former Sabah state secretary K Y Mustafa and Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation deputy chairman Henry Chin Poy Wu.
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