KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the fraudulent issuance of citizenship to illegal immigrants has hardly got off the ground but has already run into controversy.
Its move to call for testimony for witnesses at its “whim and fancy” will render its investigation far short of what the people of Sabah are expecting, an MP from Sabah said today.
“The commission must conduct an open hearing to give opportunities for the public who want to offer testimonies without restriction,” said Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) president Wilfred Bumburing, the Tuaran MP.
“We [APS] also want to know why the commission is not conducting an open hearing and allowing everybody who want to come forward to offer evidence to be given the opportunity to do so,” he said in a statement to FMT.
He added that if the commission was restricting the hearing to a predetermined number of individuals or parties, then its investigation will fall far short of what is expected by the people.
The Pakatan Rakyat-friendly MP was responding to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong who told Parliament on Wednesday that the RCI had begun its task by holding a meeting to determine who it would call to testify.
Bumburing, who resigned from Barisan Nasional over the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah, said the National Registration Department and the Immigration Department should also be called to give testimonies and answer questions from the commission.
“We don’t want to see a repeat of what happened during the hearing of the Integrity Committee where these two departments ignored the call by the committee to come forward to provide important information,” he said.
That committee was chaired by Federal Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Bernard Dompok, the Upko president who is also Penampang MP and Bumburing’s former boss in the party.
‘Hush-hush job’
Bumburing said that should officers from the two departments refuse to appear before the commission, then the head of the departments, the ministry and the government must be held fully responsible.
“If the government wants the RCI to do a comprehensive job, then extra funds should be provided to enable the commission to fully carry out its function. However, I did not see that kind of funds reflected in the 2013 Budget.
“We can expect high expenditure in facilitating hearings and to facilitate people to come forward to testify as the RCI should not restrict its work in calling people to come forward to testify but to visit where they are working or residing [in the vast state where travel is often difficult],” he added.
Bumburing said it was over two months since the formation of the RCI and yet the commission had not begun to hear testimony in Sabah and was expected to complete its inquiry in six months.
“So far, the commission has only announced that it had identified those who are going to be called to testify.
“In view of the huge number of illegal immigrants in Sabah and the huge numbers of documents to be uncovered and examined, we are doubtful if the commission will ever complete its job to satisfaction and to fully fulfil the demand of the people which would include a comprehensive solution to the problem.
“From what we have observed so far, we are of the opinion that the government just wants a hush-hush job in order to pacify the people,” he added.
The Tuaran MP quit the ruling coalition and his party, the United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko), of which he was the deputy president, on July 29 and immediately launched APS as his political platform, linking it with the opposition coalition Pakatan for the coming general election.
By Joseph Bingkasan
matlamat RCI untuk menyiasat jumlah pendatang asing di Sabah yang diberikan kad pengenalan atau kewarganegaraan.
ReplyDeleteRCI akan menyiasat sama ada pihak berkuasa yang berkenaan telah mengambil apa-apa tindakan atau membuat apa-apa penambahbaikan kepada prosedur amalan standard, kaedah-kaedah dan peraturan bagi mengelakkan apa-apa ketidakteraturan daripada segi undang-undang.
DeletePanel RCI harus membukti kebolehan menyelesaikan isu PATI yang semakin serius ini.
DeleteRCI WILL ONLY BE MEANINGFUL IF LINKED WITH INQUIRY INTO SABAH'S LOSE OF CONTROL OF IMMIGRATION MATTERS
DeleteThe 20 Points Agreement specifically preserved Sabah's right to control immigration into Sabah. It recognises Sabah territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Border security was a cornerstone rationale and a fundamental promise and understanding to the whole concept of forming Malaysia.
The British Malayan 1960S invasion scare campaign was used to justify the formation of Malaysia to "protect" Sabah and Sarawak from the threat of Indonesian and Filipino invasions.
UMNO Malaya deliberately broke the agreement by failing to secure the borders from the flood of "illegals" into Sabah and Sarawak from the very countries they were promising to "protect" us from the very invasion which Malaya was using as threat to intimidate Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia.
If your partner in any venture breaks the partnership agreement this immediately puts in question the continuation of such a relationship. Malaya has long since broke this relationship.
If Sabahans fail to use this opportunity to re-assert control over immigration, they can only except the further damnation of their country AND what is left of their lifestyle under UMNO colonial dictates and plunder.
Sabah will remain a vassal state of Malaya.
siasatan akan menjurus kepada sama ada pemberian kad pengenalan biru atau kewarganegaraan kepada pendatang asing di Sabah adalah menurut peruntukan undang-undang.
ReplyDeleteRCI akan menyiasat sama ada pendatang asing di Sabah yang memegang kad pengenalan biru, resit pengenalan sementara (biru) atau kewarganegaraan secara tidak mengikut undang-undang telah didaftarkan dalam daftar pemilih
DeleteLet see what the RCI can get after a thorough investigation?
DeleteSiasatan lebih lanjut juga perlu berhubung prosedur amalan standard, kaedah-kaedah dan peraturan-peraturan berhubung dengan pemberian kad pengenalan biru atau kewarganegaraan kepada pendatang asing di Sabah dengan mengambil kira standard dan norma antarabangsa yang terpakai bagi Malaysia
ReplyDeleteSaluran mana yang PATI ini mendapatkan mykad?
ReplyDeleteAdakah ini berkait dengan rasuah juga?
Delete“If the government wants the RCI to do a comprehensive job, then extra funds should be provided to enable the commission to fully carry out its function. However, I did not see that kind of funds reflected in the 2013 Budget.
ReplyDeleteI think the government will give all kind of support to the panel to carry out their duties.
Siasatan RCI masih tidak jelas. Moga-moga, panel ini bebas dan amanah menjalankan tanggung jawabnya.
ReplyDeleteSemoga panel yang di lantik akan menjalankan tugas dengan lebih amanah.
DeleteJabatan mana akan menjadi sasaran siasatan RCI?
ReplyDeleteJabatan imigresen dan JPN harus disiasat sebab kedua jabatan ini berkait rapat dalam kemasukan PATI dan pemberian mykad.
DeletePasti ada pihak salah gunakan kuasa.
ReplyDeleteIsu kewarganegara songsang ini bermula sejak Dr. M. Sehingga kini, isu ini masih giat dalam politik.
ReplyDeleteIsu PATI harus bertindak cepat. Golongan ini akan menjejas perkembangan di Sabah.
ReplyDeleteSemoga siasatan RCI tidak mengecewakan.
ReplyDeletethat fucking india from Kerala called Mahatirh Mohamad deserved to be shot on his head together with the pakistan harris salleh, the fucker, the father of all illegal immigrant from Philipine, Indonesia and Pakistan (the land of SaiTAN")
ReplyDeletemasalah pendatang tanpa izin yang dikemukakan kepada kerajaan sejak sekian lama telah mendapat perhatian oleh kerajaan.
ReplyDeletePenubuhan RCI itu antara bukti dalam perjuangan mana-mana parti dalam BN.
ReplyDeleteThe decision to conduct an RCI is an administrative decision of the Federal Government and the proper authority to decide is the federal Cabinet
ReplyDeleteSabah Umno has always been supportive of any measure to ensure the welfare and security of the State, whereby the interest of its people is always a top priority
ReplyDeleteThe Royal Commission of Inquiry into Sabah’s over three-decade old illegal immigrant controversy will start public hearings next year.
ReplyDeleteWith the 13th general election due anytime now and some expecting Parliament to be dissolved this month, the five-man panel headed by former chief judge of Borneo Steve Shim Lip Kiong announced Jan 14 as D-Day for Sabahans to hear evidence of what many claim is a massive immigration system fraud.
ReplyDeleteShim said the panel had so far identified 48 witnesses to be called for the public hearing which will be held at the Kota Kinabalu High Court.
ReplyDelete“We met today to finalise the list of witnesses and (look at) their relevance in our inquiry,” he told reporters after the panel met for its first meeting since its appointment on Sept 21.
ReplyDeleteOn the limited time given to complete the inquiry, he said they were not worried as there were provisions for them to request an extension.
ReplyDeleteThe RCI’s terms of reference empower the panel to determine the number of immigrants in Sabah that have been given Malaysian citizenship and, if so, whether the issuance of citizenship documents was legal.
ReplyDeleteThe terms of reference also stipulate that the panel can investigate the legality of the issuance of citizenship to immigrants in Sabah, verify if they are indeed holding blue identity cards or temporary identification receipts or citizenship documents that had been illegally registered into the electoral rolls.
ReplyDeleteThe panel can also investigate the reasons for the abnormal increase in Sabah’s population.
ReplyDelete