SAPP demands for establishment of RCI on illegals before GE13

KOTA KINABALU, Dec 7, 2011: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has called for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the perennial issues of illegal immigrants and ‘Project IC’, before the 13th General Elections.

Urging this was its Deputy President cum MP for Seppangar, Datuk Eric Majimbun, stressing that such a move is crucial towards cleaning up of the much-tainted electoral rolls, in line with the Government’s pledge for electoral reforms.

"And those culprits who are involved in the Project IC too should be brought to justice according to the existing laws, as these people are the traitors of the country, Sabah in particular," he said.

"If the Government can allow for the establishment of RCI to probe into an individual-related issues like that of Teo Beng Hock’s mysterious death and a lawyer like Linggam, why can’t the same be done to resolve the perennial issue of the presence of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who have obtained the Mykad, that is threatening the sovereignty of Sabah and affecting the wellbeing of its people?" he questioned.

Besides this, he also challenged UMNO and the Chief Minister as the Chairman of Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) and the State Security Council, to take a stand on the call for the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the perennial illegal immigrants issue affecting Sabah.

Majimbun was responding to the recent statement by the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman, that the opposition were merely capitalizing on the RCI to score political mileage, and describing it as an unreasonable and irresponsible act.

"None of the Sabah delegates who spoke in the recent UMNO Annual General Assembly had supported the calls for the setting up of the RCI," he noted.

In a rebuttal issued here today, Majimbun contended that both the issues of illegal immigrants and ‘Project IC’ are close to the heart of the people of Sabah, and they have waited for many decades to resolve the issues.

"Almost all political parties in Sabah including several component parties of Barisan Nasional too have expressed their support demanding for the establishment of the RCI by the Federal government."

"SAPP Youth had also collected 100,000 signatures through its campaign and these signatures were later submitted together with a memorandum to the Prime Minister in the Parliament, and the Chief Minister at the State Legislative Assembly," he pointed out.

He added that SAPP had also moved a motion for the tabling of the said RCI in the State Legislative Assembly, but was rejected by the Speaker.

"During the recent public hearing conducted by the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms, the issue of RCI was also raised as a mean of cleaning the electoral rolls. This showed that the people of Sabah are one-hearted in demanding the Government to act on the issue. Unfortunately, the Government just can’t be bothered and continue to ignore the issue affecting the sovereignty of the State which is a major concern to the people," he lamented.

Majimbun continued that it has been proven that the situation has become more serious as reflected in the census conducted in 2010 whereby Sabah population has drastically increased to 3.2 million, as compared to Sarawak which only has a population of 2.4 million.