Shafie (fourth left) officiating the opening of Tun Mustapha Mara Junior Science College yesterday.
TAWAU: All quarters, including the Opposition, should welcome the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
He said the Government had taken a bold step to set up the RCI following hue and cry over problems related to citizenship and immigrants in Sabah raised by many quarters, including the Opposition.
“After RCI was formed, opposition parties are against it, instead of welcoming it. Certainly, RCI can have positive and negative impacts. In the course of investigations, definitely we have pros and cons.
“But the most important thing is the firmness and courage displayed by our leaders, particularly Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, in setting up RCI.
“we know this is an election season and that RCI might be turned into an issue. But we are after solution so that there will be no more confusion and manipulation by unscrupulous people,” he told reporters after opening the Tun Mustapha Mara Junior Science College here yesterday.
“What happened in Sabah is not unusual. It also occurs in the United Kingdom and the United States. What is important, as a sovereign country, the Government is taking the responsibility to strengthen the administration so that it will not cause hardship to future generations,” he said.
Shafie, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the RCI would submit its findings to the authorities before they are tabled in Parliament to resolve the quagmire.
Hence, he advised all quarters to let the RCI perform its tasks, instead of criticising and blaming certain people.
Also present were Assistant Finance Minister Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan, Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development Datuk Pang Yuk Ming and Kalabakan Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Ghapur Salleh.
Meanwhile, Shafie said the Barisan Nasional (BN) had done a lot for Sabah in terms of developing it for the benefit of the people.
“I hope that Sabahans would be able to compare between the BN and Opposition instead of just blaming the BN blindly,” he said, adding that there is still a lot to be done for the state in terms of infrastructure and the various government assistance schemes.
For Tawau, there is still a lot to be done although the people cannot simply turn a blind eye to the massive development being provided for the community, said Shafie who is also Umno vice president.
“Many villagers are still left behind, but the Government is doing its very best to bring about development and progress for the people. There is no way we can bring development 100 per cent all in one go and this has to be carried out in stages,” he added.
Shafie hoped that the people would bear with the Government as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had given priority to the welfare of the people as reflected in his concept of People First, Development.