Shut up, Upko tells Akjan

0

KOTA KINABALU: Going by the sworn testimony of an individual named Hassnar Ibrahim, there should be no doubt about the existence of the ‘Project IC’, United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (UPKO) secretary general Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said.

In the minds of the public, they are certain that the ‘Project IC’ indeed happened, as narrated by Hassnar, through his un-rebutted sworn testimony at the Likas election petition trial in 1999, he said in a statement yesterday.

“In that sworn testimony, Hassnar went into great details explaining the modus operandi of the ‘Project I/C’ prompting the presiding judge Datuk Haji Muhammad Kamil Bin Awang to make the following written judgment:

“In 1998 it was alleged that he (ASAINAR B IBRAHIM @HASSAN) was involved in a ‘Project’ to process and distribute blue identity cards to illegal immigrants in Sabah, the Filipinos and the Indonesians. On 9th July 1988 he (ASAINAR B IBRAHIM @HASSAN) was detained under the ISA for 60 days and thereafter he was placed under restricted residence for 2 years. He (ASAINAR B IBRAHIM @HASSAN) was never charged in court to this day. He ASAINAR B IBRAHIM @HASSAN) alleged that there was a conspiracy at the highest level to register illegal immigrants as voters (see below).”

Tangau added that Asainar had named names of the principal actors of the ‘Project IC’ of which none of them until today has come out in the open court to clear their names of their alleged involvement.

Therefore the assertion by Pertubuhan Kebajikan Dakwah (PEKIDA) Sabah chairman Mohd Akjan there is no such thing as a “Project IC” gave all the more reasons for the government to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the matter, he said.

Tangau was responding to Akjan’s statement on PEKIDA Sabah’s objection to the calls by various quarters in the state on the Federal Government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the illegal immigrants issue and Project IC in Sabah.

Tangau also challenged Akjan to give proof leading to his conclusion that the call for RCI has bad intention.

“The basic intention of the RCI on the Project IC is simply to establish the truth whether or not the ‘Project IC’ ever existed and henceforth to recommend a plan of action to determine the future of holders of ‘Project IC’, he pointed out.

He added that anyone with a clear conscience wants nothing but the truth out of the RCI and an eventual resolution of the existence of “manufactured citizens in Sabah” which have undoubtedly contributed to the extraordinary increase in the population of the state.

The former Tuaran member of parliament and currently Tuaran divisional UPKO chief pointed out that during his two terms as MP, he had made adjournment speeches and asked written questions asking for the reason as to why there was an extraordinary increase in the population of Sabah.

Until today, he has yet to receive a satisfactory answer to the questions raised on the extraordinary increase in the population of Sabah, Tangau lamented.

“Sure, any qualified individual can apply for citizenship in this country. However like any other matter it is governed by law, rules and regulations. We must uphold the rule of law”.

“Giving identity cards by illegal means such as through the ‘Project IC’ was not only illegal but the perpetrators should be brought to justice in open court,” he said and added that perhaps Akjan should explain why he was arrested under ISA.

“Was it not because of his involvement in the IC syndicate?” Tangau said.

In the light of Datuk Muhammad Kamil’s written judgement on the Likas election petition, UPKO found it ironical that there are still people in our midst including high ranking leader of the Ministry of Home Affairs, in the person of Datuk Lee Chee Leong, the present Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, who had issued a strong denial on the existence of the ‘Project IC’ and yet none of these people ever made any reference to the sworn testimony of Hassnar Ibrahim and the written judgement of Datuk Muhammad Kamil, he said.

“I was informed that several people have lodged police reports asking the Police to investigate the denial made by Lee and perhaps other denials should also be investigated.

“As the secretary general of UPKO, I challenge both Akjan and Lee to read the written judgement of the Likas election petition 1999 by Datuk Muhammad Kamil Bin Awang and let us see if anyone of them could come up with any material denial of the facts quoted by the honourable judge regarding the existence of a “Project IC”.

“If Akjan fails to make any material denial after reading the written judgment, then he should simply shut up and instead support wholeheartedly the call for the establishment of the RCI,” he said.

According to Tangau, the people of Sabah are more concerned on the security issues brought about by hundreds of thousands of ‘manufactured citizen’ and ‘manufactured citizen in waiting’ rather than other issues mentioned by Akjan which is nothing but simply an attempt to sidestep the real issue.

“To UPKO those issues mentioned by Akjan on ethnic harmony is nothing more than to gloss over the issues of wrongdoing by perpetrators of ‘Project IC’ and Identity Cards Syndicates over the years.”

In the light of the latest objection to the setting up of the RCI, UPKO is confident that the Barisan Nasional leadership beginning from the BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Sabah BN liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman as well as Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan who is also the chairman of the Sabah BN Committee on Illegal Immigrants will not be disturbed by any form of objection in our effort to seek the truth and eventual resolution to the “mother of all problems in Sabah” particularly from a person of questionable background such as Akjan.