Wait for RCI outcome, say Sabah leaders

It is better to wait for an outcome of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Sabah's illegal immigrant problem before making any comments, said Sabah deputy state speaker Datuk Johnny Mositun.

Mositun, who is also PBS information chief and Pantai Manis chief, said what was important for the state right now was to move forward and make a better decision in the future.

He was speaking to reporters after attending a wreath laying ceremony at the Petagas Memorial Park to commemorate Sabah guerrillas killed by the Japanese in 1944 at the end of World War II.

PBS president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said he would also wait for the RCI to finish before giving his views on the party's fall from power after the 1994 state election.

“We will let the RCI hearing finish, then make a more intelligent comment on this matter,” he said when asked by reporters about claims that ICs had been issued to immigrants to oust his ruling PBS government in the 1994 state polls.

Pairin, whose party returned to Barisan Nasional in 2002, said it was still too early to make any decision or give any comment on claims made at this point in the hearing, which only began last week.

“It is best for the RCI do its job,” he said.

During the 1994 state election, PBS had retained its hold on the state government by a simple majority when it won 25 of the 48 seats contested while Barisan, led by Umno, polled 23 seats.

However, Pairin's government subsequently collapsed following a spate of defections that saw Barisan take over the state government.

On June 1 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had announced the setting up of the RCI to investigate long-standing problems related to illegal immigrants in Sabah as the Government was committed to resolving the issue, which could affect the well-being of people in the state.

Najib had insisted on the setting up of the RCI and on Sept 21, had handed over the appointment letters to RCI chairman, former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong and the commission's other members.

The Prime Minister was reported to have told the commission members that he wanted the inquiry to be completed before the 13th general election.

Meanwhile, Sabah STAR chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan claimed that the RCI just confirmed that the “Project IC” existed and that electoral rolls were tainted.

“Sabah should be exempted from the coming general election to facilitate a clean-up of dubious voters on the electoral rolls,” he said.

Source: The Star