Dompok
PENAMPANG: Foreigners being granted Malaysian citizenship should go through a more stringent process such as that practised in other countries like Australia and the United States of America.
“I saw a very nice picture of the Australian Prime Minister giving citizenship to an individual on Australia Day recently, and this individual had to recite the national anthem during a special ceremony. So things like that should be done properly with certain procedures so the citizenship will be more meaningful.
“How can there be meaning to a citizenship when you just become one overnight or given to just about anybody else on very dubious considerations?” the United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (UPKO) president asked.
Dompok, who was met at a meet the people session at Kampung Terawi on Sunday night, was also asked if he thought opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be subpoenaed to give evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah.
He replied: “I think the RCI must be a commission of inquiry that looks into finding out what happened, to find a solution and if indeed Anwar Ibrahim has something to say, then he should be called.
“But he does not appear to be someone who has something to say because he has said he knows nothing about it. So I do not see any angle why he would volunteer himself to be called – but then again it is up to the RCI to find out,” the Penampang member of parliament said.
To the question whether he thought former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should also be subpoenaed, Dompok said it would be up to the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
“I would not know, that will be up to the RCI.”
When it was pointed out to Dompok that Mahathir had said that foreigners who qualified have been given Malaysian citizenship, the former said: “I suppose the avenue for him to expand on his statement could be the RCI if he wants but it is not for me to say.
“It is up to the RCI whether to subpoena him or for Mahathir to volunteer to go. It is really up to them; I don’t think I have much to say about that,” he added.
Dompok who was asked on what he thought of Mahathir saying it was right to give citizenship to foreigners, replied: “I am of the view that giving citizenship to people must follow the procedures that have been set. It cannot be done just by giving to anybody at any time that you like. There must also be some qualifying period for the procedures.”
On the issue of whether the issuing of citizenship to about 200,000 foreigners was within the law, Dompok said he would not be able to comment on the matter.
“I don’t think I would be able to say whether it is within the law or not because you have to check who these people (who were given citizenship) are. That is why we have the RCI because obviously we are not able to get these details. I have tried it before – I have tried it in parliament when I was the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity. I tried to inquire deeper into this issue but I could not.
“I am very happy that the RCI has been set up so people can then ask and anybody subpoenaed must come,” he said.
When asked if BN’s support would be affected now that the RCI has been told that phantom voters had been used to help the coalition win in several constituencies in Sabah, Dompok was of the opinion that support for BN would remain strong.
“This is therefore the time to support BN because we have a new leadership that is not afraid to tackle issues; even setting up the RCI. The people of Sabah should be thankful that we have a brave government that is willing to take risks in order to solve problems.
“That is all the more reason why we should support (BN) and I see no reason for BN votes to decrease on account of what it is doing for the good of the country; it would not make sense,” he stressed.
He also took opposition leader Lim Kit Siang and Sabah DESAH chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun to task for having said they have no confidence that the BN government would solve the illegal immigrant issues.
“That is what they said, they said the RCI will be still-born, it won’t even see the light of day; it saw the light of day. After it was basking in the sunlight, they said ‘oh nothing will come out of it’, then the Pakistanis came to testify then they are now saying the government will not do anything.
“So wait, give BN a thumping victory and we will prove what we can do,” he said.