The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah
began its public hearing at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex here
yesterday.
The five-member panel was led by former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong.
The panel comprises Universiti Malaysia Sabah former vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon,
Kuala
Lumpur former police chief Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, former state
secretary Datuk Kee Mustafa, and former deputy chief minister and former
state attorney-general Tan Sri Herman J.Luping.
Shim read out the
terms of reference of the inquiry which was to enquire, among others,
the number of immigrants in Sabah who had received blue identification
cards (IC) or citizenship, whether the issuance of the ICs or
citizenship was in accordance with the law, whether the immigrants who
held the blue ICs, temporary identification receipt (blue) citizenship
illegally had been registered as voters, and the reasons for the
increase in Sabah’s population.
Manoj Kurup, Datuk Azmi Ariffin
and Jamil Aripin of the Attorney-General’s Chambers have been appointed
as conducting officers to assist the commission in questioning the
witnesses.
In his opening statement, Manoj said the conducting
officers would first adduce evidence from a historical perspective from
witnesses who have expertise in history and anthropology.
He said
witnesses from various government departments such as the National
Registration Department, the Immigration Department, the Election
Commission, the Statistics Department, and the Sabah State Chief
Minister’s Office would be called to testify.
Manoj said
ex-detainees under the Internal Security Act 1960 would also be called
on matters related to the issuance of identification documents.
He
said evidence would also be gathered from individuals from several
countries like the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Indonesia, who were
in possession of various documents used for identification like the
1MM-13, entry permits, green and blue ICs.
Permanent residents and
even citizens will also be quizzed on how they came into possession of
their identification documents or how they obtained their present
status, he said, adding that evidence gathered by politicians and
authors would also be sought
Source: Borneo Post
The commencement of the RCI hearing is a testimony to the Barisan Nasional government's commitment to fulfil its promise of solving problems and issues faced by the people.
ReplyDeleteInstead of questioning the commitment and sincerity of the government, the opposition should cooperate with the RCI by offering whatever information they have that could lead to the formulation of concrete measures to solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteRCI is seen as a strategic component of Najib's national transformation agenda as the illegal immigrant problem is also associated with issues such as citizenship, security, socio-economy, health and politics.
ReplyDeleteThe RCI was initially expected to call about 50 people for the hearing, but the New Straits Times has learnt that the number of witnesses could exceed 100, including at least two former chief ministers and several former senior civil servants.
ReplyDeletepastikan pelaksanaan RCI berjalan lancar
ReplyDelete