128. Subpeona Tan Sri Rashid Abdul Rahman Ex EC chairman

http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/oh-no-you-dont-abdul-rashid/

The People's Parliament

We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers – Emmeline Pankhurst

Oh, no, you don’t, Abdul Rashid

Posted on January 24, 2013

18

By Singa Terhormat
___________________
The Daily Express, an East Malaysian newspaper, in an article dated 23^rd September, 2011, reported that Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, former Election Commission (EC) Chairman (and before that its Secretary since at least the early 1980s), denied the truth of a United States embassy cable posted on WikiLeaks  (which) revealed that he had admitted to issuing more than 60,000 fake Malaysian identity cards in Sabah on Umno’s instructions.
This is how the Daily Express reports his reaction:
 “That can’t be true. I had nothing to do at all with this and I was never involved in issuing Ics.”What the EC did was only to register citizens with ICs as voters,” he said, adding that IC matters were within the National Registration Department’s prerogative. The cable quoted former Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) chief Malek Husin as claiming that Rashid had confessed this to him during a private meeting at the latter’s house on Oct 25, 2006. It also stated that Malek was said to have informed the US embassy officials that Rashid allegedly confirmed that this strategy was meant to wrest political control of Sabah which was held until 1994 by then opposition front Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).
During that decade, claimed the cable, Umno had granted citizenship and Malaysian identity cards to over 600,000 foreign migrant workers (predominantly Muslims from Indonesia and Mindanao in the Philippines) in Sabah, in exchange for their votes in state Assembly Elections.”
The Daily Express added:
“Rashid however recalled being informed by the opposition parties in Sabah about an allegation of registering foreigners as voters.
“They then asked me to check the ICs of these people, which I refused as this was not within our authority but NRD’s.”
The Harakah Daily of 23^rd January, 2013 speaking of this same Abdul Rashid reports:
“ Rashid admitted that there were major issues with regards to the electoral roll, but said cases of foreigners being registered as voters should be blamed on the National Registration Department.
 “EC has no powers to intervene in such cases. This mess… it is NRD’s,” he said, admitting that foreigners were issued with Malaysian identity cards and had signed up as voters in Sabah.”
So Abdul Rashid says he was never involved in issuing ICs as IC matters were within the National Registration Department’s prerogative.
Of course the National Registration Department is the one that issues ICs.
Any fool knows that. Any fool knows that it is not the EC that issues ICs.
Could there have been complicity between both bodies, the EC and the NRD, to carry out these unholy acts though?
Mohd Nasir Sugip, a former Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) officer, alleges so.
Abdul Rashid, you now admit that there were major issues in the electoral rolls but maintain that the blame lies with NRD and not you or the EC and so you did nothing about it.
Was that responsible of you, Abdul Rashid?
On an issue that affects the sovereignty of this nation and the democratic rights of its peoples you did nothing about it?
And you were the Secretary and later Chairman of the EC!
Did your job scope as such not require you to ensure the integrity of the electoral rolls?
Was it not a duty you owed to the nation and all its peoples?
As a Kelantanese, Abdul Rashid, you surely have come across and understand the meaning of “Kami tok se oren make gaji buto”. (We do not want those who take their salary without earning it.)
On reflection now, do you feel you fully earned yours?
And Abdul Rashid, what do you now have to say about the evidence given at the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry on this matter where it is reported that Mohd Nasir Sugip, a former Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) officer, is reported to have said that “the operation involved providing the immigrants with new identity card numbers based on the date of birth, photographs and names provided by the EC” and that  “the names were changed, IC numbers were changed, date of birth was changed… and their pictures,” ?
Now Abdul Rashid, pray tell us what was the EC doing providing the NRD with dates of birth, photographs and names to the NRD, as alleged?
How did it fall within the scope of functions of the EC to provide such information, if that is true?
For what purpose, pray tell?
As reported, Mohd Nasir Sugip also claimed that “his department had once taken instructions from the state Election Commission (EC) to provide unqualified immigrants with identity card numbers so that they could vote in the election.”
 Please enlighten us on all these matters, Abdul Rashid.
Do not patronize us by now saying that the “present electoral system must be reformed” and that you “propose that voters are re-registered the way population census is done” as reported by Harakah Daily.
Harakah Daily also reports that you said “by carrying out a completely new registration process, the suspicions and allegations over the reliability of the voters list could be put to rest once and for all.”
Eureka!
All problems solved?
No, Abdul Rashid, things do not work that way.
The matter will not disappear just by now undertaking a new electoral rolls exercise.
It is understandable that you may wish that the problem can be dealt with and discarded in that manner.
What wrongs have been committed can be overlooked and forgotten?
A great injustice appears to have been done to this nation and its peoples during the time you were EC Secretary and later Chairman and you have to take the responsibility to answer all those allegations, which if true, amounts to high treason.

127 distraction by design of local tolerance against illegal

 what a misleading piece here?  Joshua

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/30/high-racial-tolerance-in-sabah-sliding-rci-told/

High racial tolerance in Sabah sliding, RCI told

Posted on May 30, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Ethnic tolerance among Sabahans is very high but on the way down, Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS) social expert told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah.
Associate Prof Dr Kntayya A/L Mariapan from the School of Sociology UMS, said a study he conducted in 2007 to measure the level of acceptance between different races in Sabah showed that the people at grassroots level were very tolerant towards each other.
The study involving respondents mainly from the native Bajau, Suluk, Kadazandusun and Murut, tried to quantify the level of acceptance among the different ethnic groups.
Over 1,000 households from Sandakan, Keningau and Kota Kinabalu, were selected as respondents using the random sampling method in the research, which also used the focus group interview approach.
Testifying as an expert witness during the inquiry yesterday, Dr Kntayya explained a set of 16 questions covering social, political, economic as well as religious aspect were given to the respondents.
The questionnaire among others asked the respondents their level of willingness to marry someone from outside their own ethnic group, form a join business venture with partners from other races, join political parties whose members are predominantly from other races and so on.
He said analysis of the data gathered led him to conclude that the ethnic groups in Sabah involved had very high tolerance towards each other, scoring between 1 and 2 on the Bogardus social distance scale.
“This is very high, with 1 being the highest or very tolerant and five the lowest or no tolerance,” said Dr Kntayya who specializes in ethnic Malaysia relationship studies.
However, he clarified that the study only captured the ethnic tolerance at the particular time it was conducted and ethnic tolerance is not a static but a fluid entity that could change at any time.
He explained the level of tolerance or acceptance between ethnics could either improve or worsen depending on any given triggering factors, and based on his observation the ethnic tolerance in Sabah was going down rather than going up.
“In Bosnia, before the war, the ethnic tolerance was very high too. The acceptance of the people at  grassroots level was very good, but then it collapsed so spectacularly,” he said.
While he did not explain what were the factors causing the changes in ethnic tolerance in Sabah, Dr Kntayya said the collapse of inter-racial trust was often caused by “ethnic mobilization by the leaders”, which in sociology is termed as “ethnic entrepreneurs”.
He said no other studies had been conducted anywhere else in Malaysia, making it difficult to conclude if Sabah had better ethnic tolerance compared to the other states in the country.
However, it can be deduced that ethnic relation in Sabah is different than that in Peninsular Malaysia.
“I do not see the same segregation like in the peninsula, where communal political parties are prominent. Here, even Umno is not exclusively for the Malay. So, the political influence in dividing races is not that evident as in the peninsula, although the tendency is always there,” he said.
Dr Kntayya also agreed with the Commission that one of the factors contributing to the high tolerance was the fact that most Sabahans were from mixed parentage.
He noted that most of the people interviewed in the study, nine out of 10, could be those from mixed origin.

126. Enough is Enough with Project IC & Street kids

Got to send them away immediately -- Joshua


http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/30/findings-on-street-kids-kept-under-wraps-sociologist/

Findings on street kids kept under wraps – sociologist

by Murib Morpi. Posted on May 30, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: A sociologist yesterday suggested stateless street kids be given some kind of status so that they can be recognized as part of the community.
“This would attract less objection from the local communities while at the same time help towards addressing the issue of stateless children in Sabah,” said Prof Dr Kntayya A/L Mariapan from Universiti Malaysia School’s School of Sociology when testifying in the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah.
He stressed that while directly giving immigrant children citizenship would draw strong objection from the local communities, a middle way was needed to be taken to address the issue.
Dr Kntayya, who appeared before the Commission as an expert witness, said these children could pose social threats if they continued to be rejected by the community as the chances of them getting involved in criminal activities such as prostitution and gangsterism were very high.
He informed the Commission that the Women and Family Development Ministry had asked him to conduct a research on street kids in Sabah but kept the findings confidential and prohibited him from publishing any materials from the study.
“I could not reveal anything from my study, but it is (the number of street kids in Sabah) very big. I must be careful not to reveal anything,” he said, when asked if the street kids were mostly foreigners and from which country.
To a question from panel chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, Dr Kntayya said he was not satisfied with how the street kids were being treated at the moment.
Earlier, he reckoned the government needed to be seen as sincere towards all parties in resolving the issue of refugees in Sabah.
He said based on his observation, giving citizenship to refugees in Sabah would cause resentment among the native communities, in particular the Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) who are already feeling marginalized and outnumbered by the immigrants.
He said introducing such a sudden change would not go down well in the current situation of inter-racial ties in the State.
He noted that the KDM, who represented the majority of the population in the State before independence, felt that their way of life was being threatened as now the situation was reversed, where they are fast becoming the minority.
“Currently, a lot of changes are already taking place in the demography; when people are already marginalized, it will be difficult for them to accept further changes,” he told the Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah, yesterday.
Dr Kntayya suggested that the authority take a more cautious approach before making it a policy to give citizenship to refugees.
“The street kids issue for example, when I said they should be absorbed into the community, the people in the meeting said no, our own children are suffering so why do we need to give welfare to foreigners? This is the kind of rejection… even for children; imagine the rejection for adults,” he said.
The Commission also suggested Dr Kntayya carry out a study on ethnic tolerance between the local and immigrant communities, to which he said he would if the government was willing to provide the funding.
Meanwhile, a witness told the RCI that she could not open a bank account in 2007 because somebody was using her identity card.
Chia Oi Len, 59, from Papar said this happened in 2007 after she had upgraded her old IC bearing a number starting with ‘H’ to the Bunga Raya version.
There were no problems using her IC until she tried to open an account with Maybank Karamunsing, and was told that someone else in Kuala Lumpur was already using her old IC with the bank.
Chia said she lodged a police report and decided to upgrade to MyKad after the incident.
As for voting, she said she never missed casting her vote in every election in her constituency and did not encounter any problems.
Another witness, Sabah Water Department chief engineer Quirine @ Quirinus Jokinol told the RCI that they suffered increasing losses and unnecessary costs between 2008 and 2012 due to illegal connections and water thefts in five districts in Sabah.
Making a comparison, he said the amount of water losses in 2008 was 71,394 cubic metres per year while 2012 recorded 259,734 cubic metre per year losses.
“Every cubic metre accounts for 90 sen and this translated to RM233,760.60 in losses last year, a jump from RM64,254.60 losses in 2008.
“As for unnecessary costs which include works to fix tampered pipes and meters, RM78,150 was spent in 2008 while RM275,690 was incurred in 2012,” he added.

125. Project IC holders in Electoral Rolls

http://malaysiange13.blogspot.com/2013/05/156-ge2004-2008-and-2013-all-null-and.html

OPEN LETTER TO THE HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER, MALAYSIA Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi challenged us to show proof that Electoral Rolls are improper hence affecting the General Elections results.

124. Part and parcel of Project IC nationwide

Genuine loss could be penalised when the criminals get away with murders.   Joshua

133,000 Mykads Lost In First Qtr Of 2013 Worrying, Says Ahmad Zahid

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=951858

PUTRAJAYA, May 23 (Bernama) -- The loss of 133,000 MyKads in the first three months (January-March) of this year alone is worrying to the government; whether these cases were due to the identity cardholders' negligence or the work of syndicates.

Describing the number as high, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he was concerned that some of the lost MyKads might be used by syndicates for criminal purposes.

"This issue needs to be tackled fast by the National Registration Department (NRD) to prevent misuse of the lost MyKads and to avoid the Home Ministry from being accused by any quarters of creating phantom voters for the general election."

Ahmad Zahid said this to reporters after his visit to the NRD, in Putrajaya, Thursday.

He was, however, confident that the NRD, which won eight awards including an international one last year for its excellent service, would be able to check the problem.

"If investigations reveal that syndicates were involved in the loss of MyKads for the purpose of committing crime and so on, I think a fine imposed on the cardholders is not enough as the NRD should also do monitoring, undertake prevention measures and provide solutions to the problem," he said.

He said the fine for those who lost their MyKad might be increased after this.

"I'm asking the NRD director-general to suggest the amount which I will bring up to the cabinet for consideration and approval," he said.

Currently, the fine for losing the MyKad for the first time is RM100, RM200 for the second time and RM300 for the third.

--BERNAMA

123. How much confusion still in the air over crimes?

Who are the local and the project IC holders (not differentiated by Police) committing crimes in Sabah?
Also Sabah was so peaceful before 1963 and why now?  Also Police did not solve many cases and how do they know who actually committed those heinous crimes.  Also tens of millions of illegal people has been into and out of Sabah for decades and where are these people? Sabah and the open seas around Sabah has been likely the burial grounds for those who disappeared mysteriously and mystically. God bless us,  Joshua...

Lahad Datu Militant Intrusion Not Related To RCI - Sabah Police Comissioner

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=951859

KOTA KINABALU, May 23 (Bernama) -- The intrusion incident in Lahad Datu by militants from the southern Philippines in February this year was not related to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah, the commission was told Thursday.

Commissioner of Police (CP) for Sabah Datuk Hamza Taib said the police had talked to the intruders and obtained their feedback that it was not about the RCI.

"We (police) have established why they landed in Lahad Datu. The RCI was not a reason for the intrusion," he said when replying to RCI panel member, Universiti Malaysia Sabah former vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon.

Hamza said the intrusion was an example of how the flood of illegal immigrants in Sabah could threaten the security of the state, because those involved had the support of their countrymen who had families or friends living in Sabah.

Responding to RCI panel member, Kuala Lumpur former police chief of Kuala Lumpur Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, he said the security threat not only came from foreigners but also local residents.

"The intruders could enter the country because they had the support of local residents but those involved were not many," he said, responding to another panel member, former Sabah deputy chief minister and ex-Sabah Attorney General Tan Sri Herman J. Luping.

Hamza, who was appointed as Sabah CP in 2010, denied that the intruders were able to enter the state because they possessed identity cards.

"I was involved in the Lahad Datu intrusion offensive since the early stage. I am 100 per cent confident that the intruders were Suluk who were illegals; they did not have any identity cards," he said, adding that the culprits were detained under the Security Offences Act (Special Measures Act) 2012 and had also been charged in court.

To a question from counsel Datuk John Sikayun who is holding a watching brief for the Sabah Law Association, Hamza said he could not say whether the intrusion would happen again.

However, he said the establishment of the ESSCOM to safeguard the security and wellbeing of the people in Sabah would potentially prevent illegal entry by foreigners.

To a question by conducting officer Manoj Kurup, Hamza said the Crime Index involving foreigners in Sabah was less than 30 per cent from 2000 until 2011 and that the remaining per centage involved local residents.

Hamza disagreed with Manoj's suggestion that the percentage of crimes committed by foreigners and the local people were at 50-50.

"For example from January until December 2000, of the 1,258 arrests, only 151 involved Filipinos, 153 involved Indonesians and the remaining 934, local people," he said.

Asked by RCI chairman, former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong on whether the police had sufficient logistics and manpower to combat crimes committed by illegal immigrants, Hamzah said they were presently adequate.

--BERNAMA

122.foreign-workers-more-hardworking-managers

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/24/foreign-workers-more-hardworking-managers/

Foreign workers more hardworking – managers

Posted on May 24, 2013, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah was told yesterday that the plantation sector in the state is fully dependent on foreign labour.
This is because locals are reluctant to take up the positions that these migrants workers fill, according to management executives from Aumkar Plantation Sdn Bhd and IOI Corporation in Sandakan and Lahad Datu.

Locals also lack the hardworking nature of foreign workers, Aumkar Plantation’s general manager and director, Nokiah Sannasi, told the commission.

“In my 20 years experience working in the plantation, I noticed that local workers are ‘sensitive’ to certain working conditions and prefer to work indoors unlike foreign workers who come here to earn a living so they are not too picky about where they are posted.
“Foreign workers are also very hard working and can easily adapt to the odd working hours in a plantations,” he said, adding that locals and foreign workers are paid the same wages by the company.
In Aumkar, there are 800 migrant general workers and only 15 locals, he said, adding that the company prefers to hire locals as there are no added costs like levy and work pass to be borne.
“But there are no takers and even if there are local workers, they would leave after just one month as they want to work near the town area,” Nokiah lamented.
He also said that in the past there were illegal immigrants employed by the plantation but all have since been registered through the 5P program conducted by the government last year.
“Every two to three years the Sabah Government will conduct an amnesty program, so we just pray for it and will register the illegal workers when it is conducted. In the 5P program last November, we registered 60 foreign workers,” he said.
Nokiah also disclosed that in the past, he had come across a couple of cases of employees using fake Malaysian identification documents when applying for jobs with the plantation.
One of the individuals was employed as his driver and the incident had occurred in 1999.
“When we employ a local, we will submit the person’s name and IC number to EPF to facilitate the contribution. However, we were informed a month later that the IC number we submitted was issued to another name that is already contributing to EPF.
“I confronted my driver and when asked where he obtained the identity card, all he replied was, ‘never mind and don’t ask so many questions. I will leave’ and he just left,” Nokiah said.
The Human Resource officer for IOI Sandakan, Nalia Rudin, and her counterpart from the Lahad Datu plantation, Luz Davila, also said that the plantations were fully dependent on foreign workers who made up to more than 85 per cent of their workforce.
IOI Sandakan employs more than 6,000 foreign workers while IOI Lahad Datu has 7,490 migrant employees.
Nalia and Luz added that although it was expensive to hire migrant workers, the plantations had to do so because they are unable to attract locals to work for them.
Their migrant workers are all obtained through legal means as they are brought in by appointed agencies.

121.migrants-pose-security-threat-to-sabah-cp

Musa Aman, please get more and more into Sabah for your good intention, Joshua



http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/24/migrants-pose-security-threat-to-sabah-cp/

Migrants pose security threat to Sabah – CP

by Nancy Lai. Posted on May 24, 2013, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: The high number of migrants in Sabah has resulted in security, social, economic and cultural implications, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrant issues in Sabah.
Responding to questions from conducting officer Manoj Kurup on the aspect of implication on security, Hamza said the recent armed intrusion in Lahad Datu was an example of the secruity threat they pose and because it had resulted in deep-rooted effect not only on the country’s security forces but also on the people in Sabah.
He, however, stressed that the threats can also come from the locals such as those who assisted and supported the intruders.
Hamza was also of the opinion that the state still needs the services of foreigners in several sectors like plantations providing that they come into Sabah through legal means and abide by the procedures.
Replying to Commissioner Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu who asked for a comparison between the positive effect of the foreigners’ contribution and the negative effect of their presence in the state, Hamza said, “we all agree that foreign workers play a role in the state’s development.
“If the Government would not have implemented the 5P program to legalise illegal immigrant workers, the sectors which are dependent of foreign workers like plantation would collapse,” he told the Royal Commission of Inquirty on illegal immigrants in Sabah yesterday. said.
He also told the panel that locals contributed 70 per cent to the police’s crime index and not 50 per cent as suggested by Manoj.
“As stated in the statistics provided, the Filipinos and Indonesians arrested for committing offences as listed under violent crimes do not number more than 15 per cent in the police’s annual crime index.
“I disagree with your suggestion that half of the crimes are committed by foreigners,” he told Manoj.
According to Hamza, most of the cases committed by foreigners are between fellow foreigners while cases involving foreigners and locals are less than 15 per cent to the crime index.
On cases involving fake or dubious Malaysian identification documents, Hamza told the panel that the police would refer these cases to the relevant authorities for further action.
He stressed that all police will investigate all reports it receives, whether it involves locals or foreigners.

120. kapazan-is-not-a-sub-race-rci-panelist

Quote below --"She also noted that there had been some sort of fraud in the issuance of the native certificate in the sense of the applicant’s place of birth.

“Many would say that they were born in Sabah, but in actual fact they were born elsewhere,” she said.

Joshua asks if Musa Aman is really born in  Sabah and please show birth certificate? Please also produce DNA to prove the link to the Gunsanad family...

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/24/kapazan-is-not-a-sub-race-rci-panelist/

Kapazan is not a sub-race – RCI panelist

by Sandra Sokial. Posted on May 24, 2013, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: A Royal Commission of Inquiry on the illegal immigrants in Sabah panelist yesterday questioned the facts presented by one of the conducting officers in a case referring to races in the state.
Tan Sri Herman Luping, who sits among the five panelists in the on-going RCI hearing yesterday asked conducting officer Jamil Aripin on the source of his facts on the sub-races of the Kadazandusun or Dusun or Kadazan.

“I would like to point out that Kapazan is not a sub-race but rather the name of a place in Penampang, because Kapazan is where I come from. So is Liwogu, Kanavaan, Ponulangon and Paus.

“If you said I am an orang Kapazan (Kapazan people), I would agree because I come from that place. This is wrong, so please get your facts right,” said Luping.
Jamil was questioning the last witness for the day, the Sabah Native Affairs administration officer Norhayati Abd Majid, to highlight on the races which are classified as ‘natives’ in Sabah.
He then forwarded a fact sheet that was derived from several sources through research by Norhayati’s department, the State Museum, KDCA (Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association) Resource Centre, Benedict Topin, Rayner Francis Lidung, P. S Shim, KDCA District coordinating committee leaders, Bobolians and the KDCA Council of Elders.
Former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, who led the five-man panel, later ordered Jamil to verify the facts.
“Also call one of them to verify and explain the facts listed as sub-race in the sheet,” he said.
Meanwhile, during the proceeding, Norhayati told the House that in the case of mixed-marriages between a Kadazandusun and another race that is not listed as ‘native’, their child can be granted the native status pending the approval from the Native Courts.
She also disclosed that to her knowledge, no native status had been issued after the State Cabinet froze its issuance on Apr 22, 1982.
Norhayati believed that several may have been issued after the date.
The House was also told of a case referring to the status issued to Kota Kinabalu member of parliament Jimmy Wong Sze Phin, which was brought into question during the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, adding that a special task force was set up to carry out investigation on the case.
“His native status has yet to be revoked but the task force officers have submitted the result of their investigation to the District Native Court for further action,” she said.

She also noted that there had been some sort of fraud in the issuance of the native certificate in the sense of the applicant’s place of birth.

“Many would say that they were born in Sabah, but in actual fact they were born elsewhere,” she said.

A total of 87 witnesses have been called up. The RCI hearing resumes on Monday.

119. Why stateless kids?

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/23/1455-stateless-kids-at-shelter-dept/

1,455 stateless kids at shelter – dept

Posted on May 23, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Welfare Department is assisting the Federal Special Task Force (FSTF) in looking after the welfare of stateless children that are housed at its Rumah Pelindungan Ehsan, according to the department’s Children’s Department Unit assistant director Mohd Azan Hussin.

He said the Welfare Department has 1,455 children between the ages of six and 18 being housed at the temporary facility now.

They comprise 1,119 males and 336 females, he told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants yesterday, adding that 641 of these children were of Suluk descent, 556 of Bajau descent and the rest are of other nationalities including Tator, Butun, Kagayan and Pakistani.

Those aged between 15 and 18 made up the highest number of 902 staying at the FSTF’s welfare protection home, he said, adding that 205 of them are aged between six and 12, while the remaining 348 are 13 and 14-year-olds.

Mohd Azan said these children are categorized as stateless because they were not able to produce any identification documents when they were picked up by enforcement agencies.

“There are two categories of stateless children, those who have parents but are loitering and living in public areas and those who do not have parents or guardians and are loitering as well as living in public areas,” he said.

He said the Welfare Department helped out with the provision of education, clothing, schooling materials and personal hygiene products for the children who are housed at Rumah Perlindungan Ehsan.

Officers from the department would also carry out interviews with the children to gather information on their bio-data and background and if there were any doubts as to the information, they would refer the matter to FSTF, he said.

Asked why there were stateless children, Mohd Azan said based on his experience, they were the product of mixed marriages and their parents did not register their births.

“Some of these children are also those who had entered the state illegally with their parents or guardians and therefore do not have any valid travel or identification documents,” he said, adding that there were social implications as a result of the presence of stateless children such as them not getting any formal education and being exploited as child labour.

“Based on my discussions with officers from other agencies, some of these children also become beggars and in the long run they can bring bigger problems to the state and country,” he said.

When asked to explain what he meant by bigger problems, Mohd Azan said as these children did not have an education or identification documents, they would have problems getting jobs when they are adults.

“They may get involved in criminal activities and will also have problems getting married legally,” he said.

To a question from Commissioner Tan Sri Herman Luping on what happened to them when they turn 19, Mohd Azan said he was informed by FSTF that if they were not ‘claimed’ by their families, they would be transferred to the Temporary Detention Centre for adults.

118. massive SESB debts by illegal

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/23/no-illegals-charged-for-power-theft-sesb/

No illegals charged for power theft – SESB

by Sandra Sokial. Posted on May 23, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrant issues in Sabah yesterday heard that no one has been charged in court for illegal electricity connections at squatter colonies in Sabah due to difficulties in identifying the culprits.
Therefore, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) had to bear the attendant cost, amounting to RM276,400 for the last five years from 2009 until February this year, to defray employees’ overtime and transportation costs in carrying out disconnection exercises, said SESB chief engineer Christiana Linus Majail.
She said disconnections such as these would normally take some time.
“We estimated an annual loss of RM3,717,720 during those years in five districts, namely Tawau, Sandakan, Semporna, Lahad Datu and Kota Kinabalu that had the highest number of reported cases of illegal electricity connection,” Christina told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants yesterday.
She said that in 2009, SESB conducted a total of 110 operations to seek out illegal electricity connections at the five districts, (147) in 2010 , (149) in 2011 ,(175) in 2012 , and (110) as of February this year , adding that they had conducted integrated operations with other relevant agencies such as the police, immigration, water department and local authorities.
“To overcome power theft, we have two recommendations, which are, to replace the wires with aerial bundle cables and to lock the electricity feeders by the roadside,” she said.
She said the offenders had resorted to power theft after they are not granted proper electricity supply due to incomplete application process such as getting the approval from the local authorities, Public Works Department and Land and Survey Department to prove that the house and land belongs to them.
On another development, Sime Darby Plantation administration and foreign workers executive, Jakaria Nasiran, disclosed that foreign workers are more interested to have an income rather than worrying about the amount received, when compared to the locals.
“They are also more productive and hardworking,” he said, adding that Sime Darby does not practise favoritism as both foreign and local workers are given fair treatment and benefits.
He said they cannot favour the locals over the foreign workers for fear that they (foreign workers) would leave and abandon their work at the oil palm plantations.
To date, he said, there are a total of 5,523 foreign workers employed to work on Sime Darby’s 45,482 hectares of oil palm plantations, adding that they make up about 85 per cent of the company’s work force.
“As far as I am concerned, we do not employ any illegal immigrants to work with us, but I will not deny that there have cases where document-less people at our plantation have been arrested before. I can only assume that these people had come to work as recommended by those currently employed by us,” he said.
Jakaria added that employment are made either through agents or advertisements.
“All our employees are taken in through the right process where the recruitment fee, including levies, could come up to RM3,500 per person,” he said, adding that he hoped the relevant authorities would bring down the fee to lighten the employers’ burdens.
He said that currently, they are only allowed to take plantation workers from Indonesia and Philippines, and is hoping that the government would also allow them to source employees from other countries.
“As for social complications, some of these foreign workers may have been involved in activities that are against the law but these matters are usually settled by Sime Darby,” he said.
A total of 80 witnesses have so far been called to testify. The RCI hearing resumes today.

117. Hospital debts by illegals

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/23/large-number-of-foreigners-in-hospitals-a-burden-dept-2/

Large number of foreigners in hospitals a burden – dept

by Sandra Sokial. Posted on May 23, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: A senior officer with the health department yesterday described the high presence of foreigners, particularly illegal immigrants, at government hospitals and clinics as a ‘burden’.

Its principal assistant director (Non-Communicable and Communicable Diseases) Dr Maria Suleiman, the 75th witness called by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah, further disclosed that the numbers of both in and outpatients were alarming.

“We term them as ‘foreigners’ who comprise those with passports, IMM13 holders and illegal immigrants. The number of foreigners seeking outpatient treatments are recorded at 1, 010, 333 people and inpatients are 295,053 people.
“This is a burden since we do not have enough manpower and there are times when we run out of space and hospital beds until we have to fix ‘camp beds’ to meet the high number of patients,” she said when asked by conducting officer Datuk Azmi Ariffin to disclose the number of foreigners seeking treatment at government hospitals and clinics.
She added that between 2007 and 2012, the department recorded losses amounting to RM21,672,031.58 of unpaid medical expenses by a total of 42, 092 foreigners, compared to the unpaid figures from the locals totaling RM7, 723, 839.23.
“Most of the patients would leave their contact numbers and addresses, but when it comes to collect the arrears, we are unable to contact them or track them down as they do not live at the address given to us earlier,” she explained.
She added that the government also had to bear the cost of implementing measures to curb the spread of contagious diseases such as cholera, viral hepatitis, measles and leprosy which normally occur at squatter colonies, adding that they spent RM200,000 to contain its outbreak in 2011. That year a total of 2,898 cases were recorded.
On other development, she said birth rate comprising foreigners were recorded at 122, 882 babies between 2001 and 2011.
Maria added that there are a total of 22 hospitals statewide, comprising six specialists, 16 non-specialist hospitals, one psychiatry; 11 health offices, 80 health clinics, and 19 mother and child health clinics.
Sabah has 1,495 medical officers, 231 specialists, 4,837 nurses, 3,453 community nurses and 1,187 medical assistants.

116. local workers vs foreigners

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/23/job-priority-for-locals-says-labour-dept-director/

Job priority for locals, says Labour Dept director

Posted on May 23, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Priority is given to local job seekers to fill up vacancies that are advertised by employers in the state, Sabah Labour Department Director, Datuk Siti Aishah Mohd Asri said.

The vacancies are advertised on the Job Malaysia Centre portal, she told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrant panel yesterday.

“If no locals take up the job offer after one month, the employer can apply to the Labour Department to hire foreign worker(s) to fill up the vacancies and they can do so after obtaining a Clearance Certificate from the Department,” she said.

Source countries for Sabah employers to get foreign workers are Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam.

At the moment, the bulk of general workers are sourced from the Philippines and Indonesia with a negligible number from Nepal, she said, adding that other than issuing the licence to local employers to bring in foreign workers, the Labour Department also ensures that the conditions as provided under the Labour Ordinance are met by the employers.

These includes the welfare and living conditions of the workers as the Labour Department will also act on complaints from the workers themselves if the conditions are not met.

“We will go to the work place and investigate to see if there is any truth to the complaints. We also carry out regular inspections at the place of employment,” she said.

When asked by Conducting Officer, Manoj Kurup, to confirm that it was cheaper to employ foreigners, Siti Aishah said that it was not accurate as it was quite expensive to bring in a non-resident employee as there are fees and levies to be paid.

“So far, where wages are concerned, foreign workers, especially those who are not properly documented, will accept whatever is offered,” she said.

Siti Aishah, who was also asked why locals were not interested to take up employment in certain sectors like agriculture and construction, replied that it was because of 3Ds; dangerous, dirty and dull.

“That is the impression we gathered from what is happening around us. The Labour Department in fact encourages locals to fill up the vacancies in these sectors and we help out by providing training programs for them but we still find that employers are still having difficulties getting locals into these sectors,” she said.

According to her, among the sectors which can be filled by foreign workers are plantation, agriculture, logging, domestic servant, construction and sub-sectors like motor workshops and retail businesses.

Foreigners are not allowed to be hired as security guards in Sabah and this is a policy set by the state Government, she said.

When asked by RCI chairman, Tan Sri Steve Shim, for the reason why it is so, Siti Aishah opined that security is considered a sensitive matter by the state government and therefore would prefer to have locals employed in the sector.

Shim also asked Siti Aishah for her general view on the foreign workers quality of work and she said that it is felt by employers that they are hardworking and produce results.

115. marriages of what people?

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/23/population-rise-a-result-of-marriages-between-foreigners-and-sabahans-officer/

Population rise a result of marriages between foreigners and Sabahans – officer

by Nancy Lai. Posted on May 23, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: From 2000 to October last year, a total of 19,781 foreigners had their marriages to Sabahans registered with the Sabah Islamic Affairs Council (JHEAINS), according to its chief assistant director Baharuddin Alwi.

Of the total, 10,922 were foreign women of various nationalities and most of them were Indonesians and Filipinas, he said.

The remaining 8,859 were foreign men who wed Sabahan women, Baharuddin told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Baharuddin disclosed that in 2000, 222 foreign women married Sabahan men and the figure increased to 312 in 2001. In 2002 it was 450, 385 (2003), 640 (2004), 824 (2005), 403 (2006), 1,109 (2007), 1,539 (2008), 1,138 (2009), 1,165 (2010), 1,433 (2011) and 1,302 (from January to October 2012).

In the case of foreign men marrying Sabahan women, JHEAINS records shows 177 (2000), 222 (2001), 384 (2002), 374 (2003), 405 (2004), 582 (2005), 278 (2006), 789 (2007), 1,092 (2008), 885 (2009), 1,124 (2010), 1,304 (2011) and 1,243 (January to October 2012).

He said foreigners who wanted to marry locals must produce valid identification and travel documents to JHEAINS if they wanted to have their marriages registered.

Muslims under the age of 18 who wanted to marry must first obtain the approval from the Syariah Court, Baharuddin said, adding that there were applications for 13 and 14-year-olds to be married.

“A work pass however is not acceptable as proof of identification, he said, adding that JHEAINS would accept a valid IMM13, visit pass, professionals’ passports and the JKM census certificate but the latter must be verified by the department.

Baharuddin was responding to question from Conducting Officer Datuk Azmi Ariffin.

Asked by Commission Tan Sri Steve Shim as to what he wanted to show the panel by calling Baharuddin to give his statement, Azmi said: “To show that the population increase in Sabah was a result of marriages between foreigners and Sabahans.”

114. Who are the local? Project IC holders???

20,000 foreigners married locals

Published on: Thursday, May 23, 2013 http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=85418

Kota Kinabalu: Almost 20,000 Muslim foreigners comprising Filipinas and Indonesians married Muslim locals since 2000, according to Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) - a factor attributed to the increasing population in Sabah.
Its principal assistant director for administration division cum Registrar for Marriages, Divorces and Reconciliation, Baharuddin Alwi, said 19,781 Muslim foreigners were recorded as marrying the locals during the period.
However, he said, the statistics also showed more foreign women opted to marry local men in Sabah (10,922) compared to 8,859 foreign men marrying local women in the same period.
"The number of Muslim foreign women marrying local men in the State surged from 222 people in 2000 to 1,302 in 2012.
"Although there were increases and decreases in between the 12 years period, the overall statistics did show a gradual climb in registration of marriages between Malaysian men and foreign women in Sabah," he said.
Baharuddin was testifying as the 78th witness at the hearing of Royal Commission of Inquiry on huge presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah, here, Wednesday.
Foreign men who married Malaysian women, he said, came from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Philippines and Indonesia, among others.
To a question from RCI Chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim as to the purpose of testifying on these statistics, Conducting Officer Datuk Azmi Ariffn said it was to find out how and why the population increased in Sabah over the years.
On marriages records from 1970s onwards, Baharuddin said the department has them but need some time to retrieve them. He said the foreigners produced valid identification and travel documents before registering their marriages in the department.
"These documents must also be verified with the concerned authorities and only then we continue to process their applications for them to marry.
"Among the documents are valid IMM13 cards, letter of census (Surat Banci) from the Chief Minister's Department that has been verified, Temporary Identification Receipts issued by the Settlement Unit, and passports except work pass.
"Under the Immigration Act, foreign workers possessing work pass cannot marry but he or she needs to revoke the work pass and return to the origin before coming back to Malaysia to marry," he said.
Datuk John Sikayun who is holding watching brief for Sabah Law Association, noted two underage Muslim girls aged 13 and14 among those Muslim Malaysian women who registered as married in the bundle of statistics submitted as exhibit in the hearing.
In light of this, Baharuddin said the Family Syariah Law required that any men who wants to marry an underage women must seek permission from the Syariah Court to do so prior to registering the marriage at Jheains.

113. Foreigners also endanger local doctors in treating them

Immigrants owe govt RM21.67 mil

May 22, 2013

The Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry was told that the cost of medical treatment for immigrants was higher than the RM7.7 million for Malaysians over the same period.

KOTA KINABALU: Foreign nationals owe Sabah hospitals RM21.67 million in medical bills from 2007 to 2012, the Royal Commission Of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in the state heard yesterday.
Principal assistant director of health (Communicable Diseases Control), Sabah Health Department, Dr Maria Suleiman said it involved 42,092 foreigners, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The RM21.67 million should have been paid by the foreigners after completing medical treatment in hospitals and clinics but they did not pay when asked.
“When the Health Department refered payment to the addresses given, they were not there and they could not be contacted by phone.”
The 75th witness said the cost of treatment was higher than the RM7,723,839.23 for Malaysians over the same period.
Conducting officer  Azmi Arifin was told between 2000 and 2011, some 1.3 million or 53.41 percent foreigners were given outpatient treatment in Sabah hospitals.
Dr Maria said some 295,053 foreign nationals were warded over the same period. A total of 122,882 births by foreigners were also recorded.
For treatnment, the foreigners only had to bring their passport, work permit And IMM13 (temporary identification receipt) but most did not have any personal documents.
She told observer lawyer John Sikayun of Sabah Law Association that hospitals continued to treat foreigners as doctors could not turn away patients.
The inquiry was also told that the government spent RM614,355 on foreign juvenile detainees from 2007 to 2012.
It was the average cost of managing juvenile detainees at Keningau Henry Gurney School and Kota Kinabalu Henry Gurney School.
Deputy Superintendent of Kota Kinabalu Prisons Kalbin Mohd Said said the foreign detainees were from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The proceedings is being held before a five member panel headed by former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Steve Shim Lip Kiong continues tomorrow.
Other members are former Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice-chancellor Prof Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, former Kuala Lumpur police chief Henry Chin Poy Wu, former Sabah state secretary Kee Mustafa and former Sabah deputy chief minister Herman J.Luping.
-Bernama