Where’s the RCI report?

Thursday, 3 April 2014


KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Sabah’s explosive population growth vis—à-vis illegal immigration may hold the answer to how the government deals with the question of state security.

Christina Liew, the representative for Api-Api, said the findings and recommendations of the RCI should be released imeediately in the light of the latest kidnapping of Chinese tourist by a group of unidentified gunmen from a holiday resort in Semporna last night.

Liew said the urgency has now become even more obvious given that the spate of kidnappings on the east coast had not stopped despite the federal government pouring in millions of ringgit to increase security along the whole of the east coast of the state.

“These foreign immigrants from the neighbouring countries like Philippines and Indonesia have not only become ‘instant Malaysian citizens’ by virtue of the indiscriminate issuance of citizenship through dubious means in the past, some of them have undoubtedly become our ‘enemies within’…,” she said.

She also said establishment of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) last year appeared a failure as the marauders “had no qualms to strike us at the time and place” as seen in the repeated occurrences of kidnapping incidents even after the establishment of ESSCOM”.

“While we acknowledged the government’s effort of establishing ESSCOM to better secure our coastlines, we also must not forget or neglect the more pressing threat that we are facing from within.

“Both logics as well as reliable intelligence had indicated that no groups or individuals can pull off such a stunt and escape unscathed unless they are familiar with the ground. The only explanation is that the culprits are probably foreign immigrants who have been residing in that area for quite some times,” she said.

“What’s the point of putting in so much money and effort to secure the coastline, when the potential threats are walking freely within the state?” she asked.

Liew, who is also the deputy chairperson for Sabah PKR, there should be no attempt to delay ‘sanitise’ or ‘modify’ the RCI’s findings in order to save the present government’s dignity and credibility.

She stressed that only a full disclosure of the RCI findings and the identification of the real culprits behind the decades-long scourge would restore public confidence in the government and its various agencies, which would ultimately encourage them (the public) to support the various security programmes put in place by the government.

“This would be impossible to achieve, when we still have our ‘enemies from within’,” she said, adding that Sabah cannot afford such incidents as they are a severe blow to the state’s fledgling tourism industry which the government had spent billions of taxpayers’ money to build up.

She warned that any negative impact on the state tourism industry would have far-reaching consequences on the growth of the state. – CM

Borneo Insider

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