Sabah opposition, SAPP, puzzled over the PBS president's reluctance to pursue the illegal immigrant issue in the state.
KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional ally, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), has been urged to stop the drama over its commitment to help resolve the illegal immigrants issue in the state.
Accusing PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan of ‘acting’, SAPP stalwart Chong Pit Fah said as the longest-serving Cabinet minister, Pairin should know the reasons for Sabah’s extraordinary population growth of 500% from 1970 to 2005.
“He served seven years in the cabinet during the Berjaya government and then nine years as chief minister when PBS came into power and now seven years as a deputy chief minister in the Barisan Nasional government.
“As the longest serving assembly member in Sabah he should know what is happening. Stop insulting the intelligence of Sabah people,” said Chong who is also Sabah Progressive People’s Party (SAPP) information chief.
Chong was commenting on Pairin’s recent statement that there was no merit to calls for the federal government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate immigration problems in Sabah.
He said he was especially puzzled as to why Pairin seemed to be reluctant to even comment on the illegal immigrants issue.
“Pairin came forward to comment and said a thorough investigation was needed after Upko youth wing raised the issue,” he said.
Upko Youth leader, Arthur Sen, had reportedly said that according to the 1970 census, Sabah’s total population was only 636,431 but had risen to 3,313,000 in 2005.
“If he (Pairin) is sincere, he should mention that the issue had been raised many times by PBS as well, particularly when it was in the opposition and that among its leaders was Dr Chong Eng Leong, an authority on the subject.
“But, Dr Chong was later sacked from PBS because of his continued outspokenness on the issue, now that PBS is back in the BN,” he said.
He recalled that Dr Chong once revealed that he was prevented from submitting a memorandum on the illegal immigrants, by PBS deputy president Maximus Ongkili.
Ongkili was the very person who first proposed the setting up of the state cabinet committee on the illegal immigrants issue, just before PBS returned to the BN fold in 2002.
Chong said Pairin’s statement was merely to pacify the growing resentment over the controversy surrounding the recent proclamation by Mohd Akjan Ali Mohammad as the Sultan of Sulu who had now threatened to let skeletons out of the closet.
“This could be another wayang (dramatisation) on the part of the BN government,” he said adding that the “people of Sabah will no longer be duped into buying tickets to watch the re-run of PBS old wayang”.
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