Sabah RCI: Yahya denies involvement in Projek IC

A former deputy Federal Minister denied ever meeting Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub or being involved in Project IC, claiming he had only heard of it a year ago when the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah was established.

Datuk Muhammad Yahya @ Yahya Lampong, a former deputy Rural and National Development minister, said the allegations made by former Sandakan district chief officer Hassnar Ebrahim were baseless and concocted by an untrustworthy person.

Yahya also said he had no intention of filing a law suit against Hassnar.

He told the five-men RCI panel led by former Sabah and Sarawak Chief Justice Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong that there was no point in taking legal action against an untrustworthy person.

Shim asked Yahya his thoughts on Hassnar making such allegations against him and implicating him in Project IC.

Yahya said he knew Hassnar as they had previously been in the same political party but did not have close ties with him. Hassnar was the MP for Kota Belud during his time as a member of the Berjaya party.

Hassnar had previously told the RCI that he and Yahya had met Megat Junid, the former deputy Home Minister in the 1980s. The reason for the meeting was to discuss strengthening the rights of Malays in Sabah.

"I am not involved in Project IC nor have I ever profited from the issuance of identity cards to illegal immigrants. I don't know why Hassnar is making such an allegation against me," Yahya said, answering another question from Shim.

Despite being in the civil service in the 1980s and also serving in Sabah in various capacities, including as private secretary to former chief minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, Yahya claimed he had never heard of Project IC until the RCI was established in September last year.

Yahya, however, said that even if Project IC was true and illegal immigrants in Sabah had been issued identity cards, it would not have an adverse effect on the poll results.

On allegations made by former senator Dr Chong Eng Leong that illegal immigrants were given identity cards to ensure that Barisan Nasional retained control of Sabah, Yahya remarked if that was the case, then the government should be sued.

Yahya said he was not a good Malaysian citizen as he did not take the whole issue about Project IC seriously. He said that there were only one or two people making these allegations and if they were dissatisfied, they should sue the government.

"If the government doesn't know or can't see the problem with Project IC, then who am I to see? I was a civil servant at that time, who was trying to attract investors to Malaysia, is it my job to ask questions?"  Yahya questioned.

He also claimed that half of Sabah belonged to the Sulu as they had been entering and exiting the state freely for more than a century. Otherwise, Yahya said, the government would have just shot the armed Sulu intruders in March instead of trying to negotiate with them.

In the 13th general election, Yahya contested the Papar parliament seat under a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket but lost to his granddaughter Datuk Rosnah Abd Rashid Shirlin, the current deputy Works Minister.

Msia Insider