Sabah RCI: BTN registered illegals as voters

The National Civics Bureau (Biro Tata Negara or BTN) was responsible for registering illegal immigrants as voters after being granted blue identity cards, the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on immigrants heard today.

Former Sandakan district officer Hassnar Ibrahim (left), a key witness during the successful 1999 Likas election petition, implicated the controversial agency when testifying at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex this morning.

“That question should be directed to the BTN in the Prime Minister’s Department, they were responsible,” he said when asked who were behind the registration of illegal immigrants as voters after securing blue identity cards.

Earlier, Hassnar explained the modus operandi of the illegal granting of blue identity card to Muslim foreigners, dubbed ‘Project IC’, was divided into two phases, one before 1985 and the other after 1985 when Berjaya lost the state government.

“Before 1985, it was to maintain the status quo where Sabah was ruled largely by Muslims.

“After 1985 when Berjaya lost, it became more political and the purpose was to oust PBS which had discriminated against Muslims,” he said.

Hassnar, who was Sandakan district chief from 1983 to 1985, said that Project IC had began as early as 1972 as an “opportunity” arose when war broke out in the Philippines and there were readily available Muslim refugees flooding into Sabah.

“When I entered office (as district chief), I was asked to sign a ream of 500 blank HNR10 forms which also bore the signature of district officer Hassan Alban Sandukong (later deputy Sabah speaker).

“There were no specific instructions from anyone  and I just signed them because this had been the past practice,” he said.

HNR10 forms are similar to a statutory declaration and with the verification of a district officer and district chief or native chief, can be used as a valid document to prove that one was local-born Sabahan.

He said the new identities of illegal immigrants are then filled in these forms and used as evidence that they were ‘locals’.

These people will also fill in the HNR3 form, the application form for blue identity cards, which is facilitated by another team tasked with going around  finding suitable candidates.

“The HNR3 and HNR10 forms were later brought together and filled into the HNR1 form (Kertas Biru), then sent to National Registration Department (NRD) which was then in Petaling Jaya.

“There, they will laminate the HNR1 which becomes a complete identity card and is sent back to Sabah for distribution,” he said.

Hassnar said there were 23 districts in Sabah with each having  between one to three district chiefs such as himself and five to six native chiefs who would have to endorse the forms.

He claimed that up to 1985, a total of 138,000 blue identity cards had been given to foreigners through this method.

He added that then-home minister Ghazalie Shafie had allowed the HNR forms to be taken out of NRD and distributed.

‘Phase 2'

However, Hassnar said when Berjaya was ousted by PBS in 1985, his role in Project IC went beyond the routines of a district chief.

“I was invited to meet former chief minister Harris Salleh. He said he had met (then-prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad and they agreed that the process of increasing Muslim voters had to be identified.

“I was instructed to meet (then-deputy home minister) Megat Junid Megat Ayub in Kuala Lumpur.

“When I met Megat Junid, he said this had been approved by Mahathir and asked me to prepare a working paper to increase the voters in all 48 constituencies in Sabah,” he said.

Hassnar said after preparing the working paper, he attended a meeting in Kuala Lumpur chaired by Megat Junid, consisting of top officials from the police, NRD, Immigration Department and M6 unit from the Prime Minister’s Department.

By Nigel Aw