Thousands of natives are stateless in Sarawak bcause there are those 'who make the rules and directives' and those 'who take it upon themselves to decide who deserves citizenships'.
KUCHING: The ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) hearing on illegal immigrants in Sabah has rankled many people in Sarawak.
Former civil servants who served under then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, illegal immigrants and refugees have all revealed how citizenships had been given out clandestinely.
These revelations have left a bitter taste in Sarawak where thousands of Christian natives are still stateless.
Said Ba’ Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian: “Reading the testimonies of the various witnesses at the RCI hearings, I cannot help but feel intense anger at the betrayal of our people by Mahathir through his clandestine and illegal ‘Project IC or Ops Durian Buruk’.
“This exercise in social engineering is all the more reprehensible because of main requirement that the illegal immigrants must be Muslims to be eligible for ICs and citizenships.
“But what is most galling and bitter to me is that while Mahathir’s henchmen were merrily handing out ICs and citizenships to Muslim illegal immigrants in Sabah, even to those who had not applied for them, thousands of our own people were being given the run-around when they applied for birth certificates and ICs.
“In fact, many of them are still stateless today. These people were born and bred on Sarawak soil but for various reasons [such as the long distance to the district office), their parents failed to register their births.”
Bian, who is a senior native customary rights lawyer, said for years he has been trying to help natives to apply for citizenship but with limited success.
“There are copies of many application forms in my office which were rejected or given no response by the authorities.
"There are some who were given temporary ICs with expiry dates on them, which I cannot fathom," he said.
Discrimination at every level
According to Bian, there are two groups of officers – those who make the rules and directives and those who take it upon themselves to decide who deserves citizenships.
“Those who take it upon themselves to decide which forms to process and which to ignore, do not seem to be aware of the grave consequences of their actions on the common people.
“There is a Sarawakian working in West Malaysia who cannot come home now because his temporary IC has expired.
"I had a schoolmate in Tanjung Lobang who was a very bright student, but he was unable to further his studies because he had no IC.
“And we are now reading about illegal immigrants who managed to prosper in Sabah just because they were of the ‘right’ religion for the purposes of Mahathir’s evil plan,” said Bian, who is also the state PKR chief.
Bian said the only obvious conclusion after reading the testimonies of the witnesses is that Mahathir’s repugnant Project IC was motivated by his desire to hold onto power at all costs.
"“It is very plausible now that they [Barisan Nasional] would replicate Mahathir’s dirty tactics to retain Putrajaya.
“Bersih’s demands now take on more urgency and the Elections Commission must implement the measures demanded before the 13th general election,” Bian added.
Joseph Tawie
Why only now, most people as helpless as they are only wake up now.
ReplyDeleteI had started my crusade code-named "EPIC of Sabah" since 1987 and then followed by three editions in 2002. 2004 and 2005.
Most people just simply ignored my books even at RM30 - special offers for three now priced at RM75.
THEY WERE LULLED INTO A SLEEP BY THE WAYANG SHOWS & KEPT IGNORANT AS THEY NEVER READ ANY REAL NEWS UNTIL THE ADVENT OF THE INTERNET!
ReplyDeleteBUT YOU DESERVE A MEDAL!
KEEP UP WITH THE GOOD WORK.
WHAT TO GET YOUR BOOK?
WHY NOT POST IT IN THE NET FOR FREE SO YOU CAN ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVE OF INFORMING EVERYONE?
A comment posted in Hornbill Unleashed responding to Baru Bian's remarks
ReplyDeleteBARU IT IS A PRICE WE PAY FOR BEING CONNED INTO MALAYSIA
Those poor people must be wondering out aloud "What meaning is there for us to agree to become part of Malaysia and we cannot even get our citizenship!" Except these were the very people the British irresponsibly failed to consult about their Malaysia idea!
Now other Sabah and Sarawak leaders have seen the futility of ever fulfilling the illusion of "independence in Malaysia" and reaping the fruits of independence they are loudly calling for independence of our 2 countries from Malaysia.
But unfortunately the Sarawak members of PKR DAP and PAS are still fostering the neo-colonial concept and advocating that Sarawak remain in Malaysia.
Has not the last 50 years taught us a severely sharp lesson that we were re-colonised by incorporation into "Malaysia" by Britain and Malaya? (Just the same reason for which the independence fighters were opposing the British/Malayan "Malaysia" concept that long ago?)
Some Sarawakians are still advocating dependence on Malaya by subscribing to the PKR colonial agenda of "closer integration" (what is this?) and begging for only 20% oil royalty when we should be demanding independence and taking back 100% control of our oil and other resources.
The British Malaya 1960s sales pitch of "security and prosperity" to convince the ill informed people to accept the Malaysia concept was flawed at the beginning and now even less useful now to promote Malaysia a totally FAILED plan for the people but a great success for the Malayan colonialists!
Our security has been sold down the drain by UMNO BN's mass transmigration and social re-engineering policies. We all should be enjoying the wealth derived from oil and yet we have become a poor country as our resources have been illegally appropriated to develop Malaya.
Today there are other Sabah Sarawak leaders who have seen through the scam and expressed not just anger but call for Sabah and Sarawak to pull out of Malaysia.
You have earned a name as a NCR land rights fighter- why not take it further and make it a "freedom fighter" and fight for Sarawak freedom from Malayan domination and colonial rule?
Then you will be remembered for a long time to come as real hero and not as someone who lacked behind in fighting for Sarawak freedom!
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Tun Mahathir tanpa apologetik mengakui peranan kerajaan pimpinannya dulu tetapi menegaskan semua kelulusan berhubung pemberian kerakyatan tersebut dibuat berdasarkan peruntukan undang-undang.
ReplyDeleteTun Mahathir berkata pembangkang boleh tuduh beliau apa saja termasuk pengkhianat tetapi semua yang dilakukan berdasarkan undang-undang.
ReplyDeleteMenurut Dr Mahathir, Malaysia sentiasa menerima orang asing untuk menjadi warga negara sekiranya mereka memenuhi syarat-syarat tertentu.
ReplyDelete"Ramai yang ada di Sabah, mereka berada di situ bukan satu dua hari, satu dua tahun... ada 20, 30 tahun. Mereka ini bercakap dalam bahasa Melayu. Mereka berhak untuk menjadi rakyat. Yang menjadi masalah ialah ialah ada orang yang tidak senang kalau mereka jadi rakyat."
ReplyDelete"Orang ini sebelum kita merdeka pun, mereka berulang alik daripada selatan Filipina ke Sabah kerana mereka tidak terima sempadan yang digaris oleh penjajah. Seperti juga di Sumatera dan Semenanjung. Kita terima sesiapa yang ada di sini sebagai rakyat, kenapa kita nak tolak mereka?
ReplyDeletePihak pembangkang sanggup menabur pelbagai fitnah, dakyah dan tohmahan untuk meracuni fikiran rakyat supaya membencikan kerajaan BN yang ada sekarang.
ReplyDeleteTujuan pembangkang berbuat demikian adalah untuk meraih simpati rakyat demi mendapatkan sokongan padu terhadap perjuangan sia-sia mereka dan ini jelas membuktikan mereka sudah ketandusan idea dalam usaha mencari pengaruh di peringkat akar umbi.
ReplyDeletepembangkang masuk kampung keluar kampung hanya untuk bercakap bohong dan menabur janji kosong yang sukar dilakukan; sedangkan BN terus bekerja bagi memastikan masalah rakyat terbela, khusus di kawasan luar bandar.
ReplyDeleterakyat Sabah sebenarnya sudah bijak menilai kerajaan yang terbaik untuk mereka kerana keadaan politik di salah sebuah negeri ditadbir pembangkang boleh dijadikan contoh betapa ruginya rakyat sekiranya tersalah memberikan mandat nanti.
ReplyDeleteKetua Menteri Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman, menyifatkan kepimpinan dari parti kumpulan pembangkang sebagai ‘Cakap Tidak Serupa Bikin’ kerana terlalu beriya-iya sangat sehingga sanggup menjanjikan bermacam-macam yang mereka sendiri pun tidak tahu apakah mampu menunaikannya.
ReplyDeletecara kepimpinan pembangkang ini adalah petanda kepada rakyat terutamanya di negeri ini agar mengambil langkah berhati-hati jangan sampai tertipu memandangkan kesannya terhadap anak cucu cicit serta masa depan negara.
ReplyDeleterakyat perlu menilai setiap kempen-kempen pembangkang kerana ia hanya membawa persepsi tidak baik berikutan hanya tahu menyalahkan kerajaan BN sahaja seolah-olah tidak bekerja.
ReplyDeletepembangkang sedar dengan cara sedemikian untuk mereka meraih sokongan politik kerana tiada lagi pendekatan terbaik melainkan menyalahkan BN dengan melemparkan pelbagai tohmahan dan dakyah termasuk mengeksploitasi sesuatu fakta mahu pun isu.
ReplyDeleterakyat jangan mudah terpengaruh bukan sahaja mengambil kira cara pembangkang masuk kampung dan keluar kampung dengan melontar pelbagai tuduhan tetapi rakyat kena ingat juga kepimpinannya ini tidak menentu.
ReplyDeletepenting bagi mempastikan rakyat tidak terpengaruh dengan dakyah-dakyah pembangkang yang tidak berasas sama sekali.
ReplyDelete