60. Bumburing dares Salleh and all ex-CMs to testify before RCI

Bumburing dares Salleh and all ex-CMs to testify before RCI

Published on: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=84161

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Reform Movement Chairman Datuk Wilfred Bumburing has challenged Datuk Salleh Tun Said and all former Chief Ministers of Sabah to appear before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah to give testimony.
He issued the challenge as Pakatan Rakyat leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had declared that he was prepared to appear before the RCI.
"All of them are duty-bound to help solve the problem.
Those who refuse to do so will imply that they are cohorts to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad's misdeed," he said here, Monday.
Bumburing, who is also Tuaran MP, said the magnitude of the illegal immigrant problem today in Sabah was a result of a well-planned programme by the Umno-led BN government since the day Mahathir took power. [JK says Project IC goes back to USNO time]
"The problem had been raised by the people of Sabah since the 80s but the Federal Government had taken a hard line position of denial.
"Mahathir was forced to eventually admit that he was indeed responsible for the issuance of ICs to the illegal immigrants in Sabah.
"Indeed, Mahathir stands accused of committing an act of betrayal to the people of Sabah and country for failing to protect the sovereignty of Sabah within Malaysia by giving citizenship to a large number of foreigners," he said.
Bumburing claimed that when his (Mahathir) misdeed had eventually been exposed, he scrambled for excuses and justification for his act.
"He had the guts to say that his action is justified by saying that he acted according to the law. The facts had now been revealed through the hearing of the RCI and now the Federal Government is duty-bound to review all the ICs given illegally to prove whether Mahathir had acted according to the law.
"By saying that Tunku Abdul Rahman had acted worse than him in granting a million foreigners citizenship is admission on the part of Mahathir that his action was wrong.
"However, he had erred in his analogy because the granting of citizenship to the migrant population at the time of independence was the agreement between the various races then based on the social contract that the three major races agreed upon.
"Mahathir forgot that his father was also a beneficiary of the agreement.
Mahathir should be brought to a constitutional court for his grievous misdeed to the people and country," he said.
Towards this end, Bumburing asked Salleh the reason he did not challenge Mahathir to appear before the RCI after his admission to his part in issuing ICs to the illegal immigrants in Sabah.
"By not doing so I dare to say that he condones all what Mahathir had done to the great injury to the people of Sabah.
"I also would like to ask Salleh what he had done during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Sabah to solve the illegal immigrant problem," he said.