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.
Eight things to know about the Sabah RCI
ReplyDeleteSome call it Project IC, some call it Project M, whatever the name, here is what we have learnt from the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Immigrants in Sabah, in particular, the covert operations that allowed foreigners to vote in the bid to topple the PBS-led Sabah government.
1. There were at least two such black operations
G17 (or Group of 17)
Ring leader: Former Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) chief Abdul Rauf Sani (1990-1992)
Known figures involved: NRD officers Kee Dzulkifly Kee Abdul Jalil, Yakup Damsah, Asli Sidup
Political figures implicated: Then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's political secretary Aziz Shamsuddin
Time period: 1990 onwards
Modus operandi
Sabah NRD officers were flown to Sabah to process some 40,000 to 100,000 blue identity cards for immigrants. This was necessary as at that time, the identity cards' details and signature were done by hand.
After the details had been written on the cards as per the application forms furnished to the officers, they were dispatched to the then NRD headquarters in Petaling Jaya to be laminated before being returned to Kota Kinabalu.
The officers testified that they did not question the application forms or their origin, but merely filled them up for the blue identity cards as they were.
They claimed to have operated from Aziz Shamsudin's house in Kampung Pandan. Asli Sidup described being flown in to Kuala Lumpur for this as an "unusual practice".
Another officer, Kee Dzulkifly Kee Abdul Jalil - who had described the operation as 'G17' and locally based in the Sabah NRD headquarters in Kota Kinabalu - said they also issued some 200,000 birth certificates to immigrants.
This document is important for future application of blue identity cards. The operation was tagged G17 as it consisted of 17 members.Head of operations Abdul Rauf Sani had confirmed the testimonies, but denied the use of the 'G17' name. He claimed to have acted alone.All known personalities involved were eventually detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for at least two years.
The only exception was Abdul Rauf, who was detained under ISA for two months, followed by five months of restricted residence.He is now the chief executive officer of the Totalisator Board of Malaysia under the Finance Ministry.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOps Durian Buruk
ReplyDeleteRing leader: Former Sabah NRD chief Ramli Kamarudin (1993-1995)Known figures involved: Former Sabah NRD deputy chief Mohd Nasir Sugip, NRD officer Asli Sidup (also involved in G17), former Sabah Election Commission (EC) chief Wan Ahmad Wan Yusof
Political figures implicated: Former Sabah chief minister Osu Sukam, former deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub
Time period: Late 1993 onwards
Modus operandi
According to RCI testimonies, the Sabah EC furnished the state NRD with legitimate voter information, including names and identity card numbers of registered voters who had never voted before or are dead.The NRD then issues an identity card receipt to immigrants using this information.
According to electoral rules, this receipt, an interim document given prior to the issuance of an actual blue identity card, is sufficient to allow a person to vote, and in this case, for immigrants to vote.These ‘phantom voters' are then planted into marginal constituencies deemed as black zones for the BN, according to witness testimonies.
Chief of operations Ramli Kamarudin said he executed this project after personally receiving instructions at a meeting with former deputy home minister, the late Megat Junid Megat Ayub, at the Hyatt Hotel, Kota Kinabalu.
Also present at the meeting were NRD officer Asli Sidup and Osu Sukam, who went on to become Sabah chief minister in 1999.
2. Illegal granting of citizenship began as early as 1988
ReplyDeleteEven though two operations in the 1990s have been mentioned to have taken place during the course of the RCI hearing, witnesses who were beneficiaries of such citizenship-for-votes operations indicate that they began in the late 1980s.
One such case was that of Mohamed Hussein, a Pakistani citizen who arrived in Sabah in 1987 and offered a blue identity card the following year.
3. Highly motivated to vote
Almost all the immigrants-turned-citizens testified they registered as voters immediately after receiving their blue identity cards.
Puzzled at their unrivaled urge to vote even compared to natural citizens, civil society lawyers holding a watching brief at the RCI had grilled the witnesses, but all of them claim to have done so of their own volition.They claimed to have personally gone to the state EC to register as voters.
4. National Security Council's fingerprints all over
The prime movers of at least two known operations, namely G17 and Ops Durian Buruk were formerly officers of the National Security Council (NSC) under the Prime Minister's Department.
Abdul Rauf Sani was transferred from the NSC in 1990 to helm Sabah NRD, the same time when G17 started.In 1992, he returned to the NSC to work with its intelligence division.Abdul Rauf's successor, Ramli Kamarudin, too, was transferred from the NSC in 1993 to head the Sabah NRD and shortly before Ops Durian Burok began.Ramli said he was "ordered" to go to Sabah to help support the creation of a state government that would be "favourable to Islam".
5. Kemas and unnamed political party also implicated
Aside from the NRD and Sabah EC that were implicated, the federal government's Community Development Department (Kemas) was also fingered during the RCI.
NRD officer Asli Sidup, who was involved in both operations, had said that aside from Sabah EC, Kemas and an unnamed political party were responsible for furnishing NRD with names of registered voters who had never voted for the issuance of blue identity card receipts to immigrants under Ops Durian Buruk.
6. RCI isn't particularly interested on who gave the orders
ReplyDeleteThe three RCI conducting officers are Manoj Kurup, Azmi Ariffin and Jamil Aripin who are tasked to question witnesses during the hearing.
Ten police officers and members of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) had also been appointed for the RCI's investigation - the same people who had interviewed the witnesses before taking the stand.
Based on what the witnesses had testified and their statements from the interview to date, the investigation appears to be fairly independent but it is unclear if key parts of the 'Project IC' will come to light, particularly on who gave the orders as it is not part of the RCI terms of reference.
Therefore, the conducting officers did not pursue this line of questioning.
An example was when Abdul Rauf Sani was quizzed about G17, the conducting officer Azmi Ariffin had only sought to confirm that they had operated at the residence of Mahathir's political secretary Aziz Shamsuddin but did not go beyond this.
In contrast, watching brief lawyer James Sikayun had grilled Abdul Rauf on why he was at Aziz's residence and whether he had receive instructions from higher ups, but answers were not forthcoming.
Civil society lawyers holding a watching brief are allowed to question the witnesses and they will likely play a role in pushing the limits of the RCI's terms of reference for more information.
The RCI is confined by eight terms of reference:
1) To determine number of immigrants granted blue identity cards;
2) To determine number of immigrants granted blue identity card due to statelessness;
3) To investigate whether this was done legally;
4) To investigate if immigrants holding blue identity cards were illegally registered in the electoral roll;
5) To investigate the standard operating procedures (SOP) for issuance of blue identity card and recommend improvements;
6) To probe if the authorities had taken action or done improvements to the SOP to prevent infringement of the law;
7) To investigate reason behind the increase in Sabah's population and their impact on the electoral roll; and,
8) To investigate the social implications of granting citizenship to immigrants in the state.
7. Conducting officers aren't fans of the media
Often times witnesses are questioned based solely on their statements given during their interview prior to taking the stand.
They are asked to agree or disagree as the statement is read out which could contain names implicated by witnesses or several set of figures.
However, unlike previous royal commissions of inquiry such as the one on Teoh Beng Hock's death, conducting officers are much less forthcoming in providing information and clarification.
Term 7 "
Delete7) To investigate reason behind the increase in Sabah's population and their impact on the electoral roll; and," if done properly would identify that the increase of Sabah Population would include those up to 2 millions given Project IC and their subsequent illegal off springs [also considered Malaysians albeit still illegal] in a few decades and that is the crux of the crisis to be resolved now. No excuse for RCIIIS to ignore this very important ingredient of scam in project IC.
8. Context matters
ReplyDeleteThe Project IC apparently began following a political shift in Sabah in which Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) swept to power in 1985, ousting the BN for the very first time.
However, PBS joined BN a year later after riots broke out in relation to the election results which destabilised the state government.
During this period, according to testimonies, there appear to be some cases of immigrants being illegally granted citizenship.
However, this operation went into full swing - in the form of G17 and Ops Durian Buruk - after PBS left the BN in 1990, days before the state election.
In that election, PBS won 36 out of 48 seats in the state assembly. PBS then led by Joseph Pairin Kittingan, was perceived to be a Christian party.
By the 1994 state election held on Feb 18 and 19, the PBS majority was slashed to two - it had 25 seats against BN's 23.
Despite the victory, Joseph Pairin had to wait outside the state palace for some 36 hours before finally being sworn in by the governor.
The delay was supposedly due to manoeuvring to oust the now fragile incumbent through defections, in which then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim played a key role.
Nevertheless, the PBS government lasted another two weeks before collapsing as a majority of its elected representatives defected to BN.
The defectors included Bernard Dompok, Lajim Ukin, and the chief minister's own brother, Jeffrey Pairin Kittingan.
With the mass defections, the PBS was left with only three elected representatives, namely Joseph Pairin, Maximus Ongkili and Amir Kahar Mustapha.
Joseph Pairin attempted to dissolve the state assembly, but this was denied by the governor. He eventually tendered his resignation as chief minister on March 24, 1994.
Component parties from both the Barisan Nasional and opposition Pakatan Rakyat feel former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his once deputy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be called in by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to defend themselves over accusations linking them to the granting of Malaysian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Sabah.
ReplyDelete"I think it is best that both be allowed to defend themselves at the ongoing hearing of RCI on illegal immigrant in Sabah and tell the RCI what they know about the accusation and counter accusation," said Upko President Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
"The only appropriate way for them to clarify (their roles) is by appearing before the Commission," he told Daily Express.
Dompok, who is also Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister and Penampang MP, was asked to comment on the accusations between Dr Mahathir and opposition leader Anwar over alleged involvement in "Operation Durian Buruk" (Ops rotten durian) regarding the issue.
Both have expressed willingness to testify before the RCI should they be called to do so.
When contacted by Daily Express, RCI Secretary Datuk Saripuddin Kasim declined comment.
In LABUAN, DAP Chairman Lau Seng Kiat, said the RCI findings would be incomplete if it does not call up both.
"This is in order to get the 'full story' behind the immigrant population explosion in Sabah," he said.
He said it is likely that the current hearing would be the only one commissioned to look into this issue and, therefore, it should not leave any stones unturned.
"Besides, one of the key so-called ringleaders (Datuk Megat Junid, the ex-Deputy Home Minister) has since died but others mentioned are late into their years. So, its now or never.
"The investigation would then be more comprehensive and when the inquiry is completed there would be no more missing pieces in Sabah's jigsaw puzzle," Lau said.
He added that apart from Dr Mahathir and Anwar, top officials like ex-Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji should also be summoned to find out what they knew about "Operation Durian Buruk."
It was during Dr Mahathir's administration that Sabah's population swelled substantially, especially following the PBS pullout from BN in 1990.
Dr Mahathir defended his decisions saying that he had acted legally just like first PM Tunku Abdul Rahman who had granted citizenships to one million Chinese and Indian immigrants at the time of Malaysia's independence.
Anwar, on the other hand, has denied any involvement, saying it was not discussed by the Cabinet.
He also said it was not him who set up the Special Task Force (STF) in the first place.
Lau said since both Dr Mahathir and Anwar have expressed willingness to appear before the panel the public may be disappointed if the RCI decides not to.
"Conclusions could only be made after the full picture of the issue was known.
The RCI should go beyond scratching the top layers," said Lau.
Regarding comments that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib should be applauded for establishing RCI, Lau said the applause may be in order only when the findings were completed and the solutions that have been suggested are taken up.
A lot more players known and unknown should come forward to be witnesses at the RCI.
ReplyDeleteI had listed some of them in my Affidavit of 32 pages to the RCI on February, 2013.
Some of present in the State and Federal Government and also senior civil servants etc...
I should think Musa Aman and his gang in the Task Force should be called up.
There are people with code 71 cannot be voters and there are people with code 71 as Assembly persons and even ministers...and so what is all this many standards in Malaysia - the rotten BN/UMNO.
A pledge to find solutions to Sabah's illegal immigrant problems and solutions to native land issues are the highlights of a special 16-point Sabah Barisan Nasional manifesto.
ReplyDeleteThe special manifesto by the state Barisan aimed at countering various local issues, including oil royalties raised by the opposition, was launched by Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman together with heads of component parties at the Sabah Umno headquarters here.
“This is our commitment to the rakyat. We are continuing our efforts. Sabah Barisan will do more,” he said while dismissing opposition promises in their manifesto as unrealistic.
The state Barisan manifesto promises to implement the recommendations of the ongoing Royal Commis-sion of Inquiry to solve the illegal immigrant problem, he said in apparent reference to the plan by the opposition to re-issue identity cards for Sabahans.
The manifesto, printed in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Kadazandusun, promises to also implement new laws and set up native institutions to find speedy solutions to land matters under Native Customary Rights.
Sabah Barisan also promised to protect the spirit of the 20-point Malaysia Agreement of 1963 while also promising equal opportunities for all in state service.
running man,
DeleteWhen can Musa Aman do anything when he is the cause of most things terrible in Sabah?
Don't continue to fool Sabahans no more - simply resign himself and bring down BN State Government as it is illegitimate since 1994...
the Government has carried out various measures including continued efforts to prevent their entry into Sabah. A police base would also be set up.
ReplyDeletebanteras pati
ReplyDelete