Full RCI report ready by December
by Murib Morpi. Posted on September 21, 2013, Saturday (Borneo Post)
KOTA
KINABALU: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the problems of
illegal immigrants in Sabah concluded its public proceeding session
yesterday after hearing testimonies from 211 witnesses.Commission chairman, former Borneo chief judge Tan Sri Steve Shim, who led a five-member panel to preside over the hearing since Jan 29, said a full report of the investigation should be completed by December.
“It has been a smooth process with everyone conducting themselves in a very civilized manner, no quarrel and throwing of chairs. From now on the hard work begins; we’ll have to go through mountains of exhibits and we’ll try our very best to get the report by the end of this year,” he said.
The Commission concluded its hearing after listening to chief investigating officer Supt Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri’s account of the investigation process carried out and the information gathered by his 13-man team for the the Inquiry since Oct last year.
Mohd Azman also explained the methods used in the investigation and gave a brief summary of the spectrum of witnesses, places and matters that were studied.
Several detailed investigation reports were also submitted by Azman to the Commission, on the visits of investigating officers to places of interest such as refugee settlements, squatter colonies and entry points along the state borders.
The reports, he informed, also contained recommendations on how to address identified weaknesses, including the management of gazetted entry points vulnerable to immigrants sneaking into the country, illegally.
“We have investigated seven police reports and 13 public complaints received throughout the inquiry, mostly alleging certain individuals of unlawfully acquiring citizenship and Malaysian identification cards.
“We have also investigated claims in 13 articles published online that were relevant to our terms of reference, especially from Sabah.com,” he said.
Azman reported that his team had in total interviewed 361 witnesses, out of which 123 were government department officers and personnel, 12 former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees, and four book writers.
They also recorded statements from 210 public witnesses, out of which 96 were Malaysian citizens, 69 Filipinos, 10 Pakistanis, and 24 Indonesians.
Among the government agencies covered in the investigations included the National Registration Department (NRD), Immigration Department, Institute of Development Sabah (IDS), Special Federal Task Force, Statistics Department, Election Commission and the police, he added.
Apart from related government bodies, Azman said investigating officers (IO) also visited and gathered evidence at 32 refugee resettlement schemes and 117 squatter villages across Sabah and Labuan.
“Intelligence was also gathered through surveillance activities at known landing points of immigrants along the coastlines of Sabah. A paper on this, containing problems that were identified and recommendations have also been prepared.
“The IOs also visited several areas in the interior and have prepared a report on why the rural folks in these areas were facing difficulties in getting identification cards,” he said.
Azman also agreed with Commissioner Tan Sri Herman Luping that a comprehensive report on investigations carried out for the Inquiry should be prepared to be shared with relevant bodies, including the newly set up Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM), for managing the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE).
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