PKAN: Don't sweep the RCI recommendations under the carpet

KOTA KINABALU - A local opposition leader has urged the federal government to act on the recommendations by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah, and not sweep the issue under the carpet.

Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri president Henrynus Amin told FMT he was concerned that the government had so far failed to outline its plan on the RCI report, completed in 2014.

“The previous government set up the main committee and technical committee as proposed by the report,” he said.

He also referred to claims by the former administration that it had implemented several of the RCI’s recommendations, including successfully negotiating the repatriation of illegal Filipino immigrants.

“However, even after more than three years and hundreds of recommendations sent to the technical committee, there has been no concrete action announced to resolve the problem.”

He added that some of those who had spoken strongly on the issue were now holding high positions in the federal and state governments.

The RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah was set up in 2012 to investigate problems related to illegal immigrants in the state. It began its public hearings on Jan 14, 2013, and wrapped up later that year.

Those called to give their testimony included Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

The complete report, which was made public on Dec 3, 2014, showed evidence that the controversial Projek IC may have existed. However, it said no political parties were involved in the granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants, and attributed the problem to corrupt officials.

Amin said when the report was first published, Lim Kit Siang who was the opposition leader at the time had protested, claiming that some 5,000 pages were missing.

“Kit Siang was widely reported to have said that the report should have included all the memorandums, notes of evidence, statutory declarations and exhibits submitted to the RCI.

“I think he was right to demand this. So now that DAP is part of the federal government, maybe he should see to it that these documents are made public, just like what he wanted back in 2014,” he said.

But for Amin, the more pertinent question was what the government would do with the RCI report.

“Don’t tell us that the new government wants to do another round of RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah,” he added.