Steve Shim to head Sabah RCI

KOTA KINABALU: Former High Court judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim  has been appointed to head a Royal Commission of Inquiry on Sabah's illegal immigrant problem, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Najib said the RCI panel would include former Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice chancellor Datuk Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon , former Sabah Attorney General Tan Sri Herman Luping , former Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Henry Chin  and former State Secretary Datuk KY Mustafa .

He said the RCI's terms of reference would include whether illegal immigrants in Sabah had identity cards or citizenship and, if so, whether these documents or citizenship were given legally.

"We fear it is another eyewash. Most of the panel members are staunch BN supporters who have worked as top civil servants. They will surely try to show their gratitude to Najib and Mahathir," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"The other factor is the 6-months time-frame. We believed the RCI was intentionally delayed so as to allow Najib and BN to dodge the outcome of the RCI findings until after the 13th general election. I think we all know GE-13 will surely be called within these 6 months."

Eyewash like the Lingam and Teoh Beng Hock RCIs

At a press conference in the Umno headquarters in Kota Kinabalu, Najib said the RCI would be given 6 months to investigate allegations that foreigners had been unlawfully awarded Malaysian identity cards.

Many Sabahans have accused former premier Mahathir Mohamad of conferring either citizenship or permanent residency to the illegals in this manner in exchange for them promising to vote for the BN during elections.

Najib, who flew in today ahead of Sunday's mammoth rally in Kota Marudu where Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is due to speak, said the RCI would also probe whether the Sabah illegals had been given citizenship and was this done legally.

“The formation of this RCI proves the federal government’s commitment to investigate the issues surrounding the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah. The government hopes that Sabahans will benefit from this inquiry and join the government in seeking the best strategy and method to solve the problem,” Najib told reporters.

Meanwhile, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee, while commenting the recently appointed Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) panel said the terms of reference looks very legalistic.

Yong added that only after the public hearing starts will the people know whether the RCI accepts submissions on the role of the Executive, government officers and Umno operatives.

"If so, then the BN-Umno will be badly affected by the public hearings, but the 6-month period is too long because the report will be out AFTER the general elections," Yong said.

However, Yong said that SAPP will make their submissions to the RCI.

The recent announcement by Najib on the 8 point Terms of Reference are as follows:

1. To investigate the number of foreigners in Sabah given blue Malaysian ICs or citizenship's;

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

3. To investigate if those given blue ICs, temporary identification receipts or citizenship through unlawful means have been registered in Sabah’s electoral roll;

4. 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;

5. To conduct a deeper probe into the SOPs, methods and regulations on the award of blue ICs or citizenship's 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;

6. 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 citizenship's 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;

7. To investigate the social implications on the Sabah community following the award of blue ICs or citizenship's to foreigners in the state; and

8) To investigate the number of “stateless” foreigners in Sabah given blue ICs or citizenship.