MANY people in Malaysia, Sabahans in particular, can sigh with relief now that the terms of reference (TOR) for the much-vaunted Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) together with the names of its members have finally been announced by the Prime Minister. Not everybody is happy, though; some say the panel has no teeth, others have questioned even the appointment of a member of the team.
Can’t please everyone, can you?
At least, there’s a semblance of Janji Ditepati on the part of the Prime Minister.
Next begins real work for the commissioners from whom expectations are very high and that’s where delivery is more important than a mere promise to act.
No doubt, they will try their level best to do justice to the trust put in them. Not an envious job, that one. They need all the cooperation from every quarter, especially those persons involved in the processing of applications from the immigrants in Sabah for Malaysian citizenship and for their registration as voters, as the case may be. Most crucial will be the Commission’s recommendations for implementation by the government. That’s the bottom line as far as most Sabahans are concerned.
But is the panel entrusted with this power and authority?
As they stand, the terms of reference do not expressly mention this power. I may possibly have missed reading it.
I must admit that I haven’t read the official text of the TOR in Bahasa Malaysia, only the extracts of the speech by the Prime Minister, as picked up by the media in Sabah. On this public statement alone do I rely for this particular piece. Please kindly point out where I fve got it wrong.
Gist of the TOR
Basically, the team is entrusted with the job of determining the number of immigrants in Sabah who have been granted Malaysian citizenship — when and how that status was acquired, legally or otherwise. Also, why was it necessary to have large numbers of additional citizens for a small place like Sabah to the extent of upsetting the then demographic make-up of the state as it was before the formation of Malaysia in 1963?
Further, the commissioners are expected to find out if any of those immigrants-turned-Malaysians as well as the holders of the temporary identification receipts (blue) have been registered as voters with the Election Commission. How were they registered as voters, legally or otherwise, and by whom or with whose help was it possible for the new citizens to get onto the electoral rolls? The purpose of getting them onto the registers is obvious: to help some political party to win elections.
Bottom line
Crucial in this exercise will be the outcome of the enquiry as many Malaysians would want to see some concrete solution to the ‘mother of all problems’ before the forthcoming elections, if possible. The question posed at this stage is whether or not the Commission has the power and the authority to recommend the necessary measures for quick action by the government in dealing with the fake voters, if any, and with the officials, those still around, who got them registered as voters.
Other terms
The Commission is also required to investigate the reasons for the increase in Sabah’s population, category by category, as follows (since?):
i) Sabahans living in the state including those accorded blue identity cards and citizenship through late birth registration;
ii) foreign workers (including their families);
iii) illegal immigrants (including their families);
iv) refugees and their impact on the electoral roll.
Is this to say that until now nobody knew how many such persons there are in Sabah? Has no census been taken of these persons all this while?
Stateless persons becoming citizens
Another job for the team is to determine the number of foreigners in Sabah who have been given the blue identity cards or citizenship “by taking into account their stateless status”. Not sure what the authorities mean to convey here – does it mean that foreigners working or residing in Sabah have been granted Malaysian citizenship whenever they were deemed stateless?
SOP
The rest of the terms of reference regarding the standard operating procedures (SOP) are corollary to the main body of responsibility of the RCI, requiring it to probe whether the relevant authorities had taken any action or carried out any improvements to the SOP, measures and regulations. In this case, the panel is empowered to recommend any amendments to those existing procedures, if found wanting, and to recommend appropriate remedial measures.
Shouldn’t this be a separate departmental exercise given the tight schedule within which the panel has to operate?
More important questions
Assuming that the immigrants in Sabah who have been given blue identity cards can be counted and identified, and assuming also that the granting of citizenship to them was all done NOT according to law, what can the federal government do now with those immigrants-turned Malaysians?
Send them back to their countries of origin?
Strip them of their citizenship?
Is the Commission required to propose recommendations as what to do with these persons?
Is the Commission required to enquire into who helped with the registration of the immigrants and who approved their applications to become citizens of the country?
Immigrants-turned Malaysian voters
Assuming that among the new Malaysians thousands have been registered as voters since some specified date in the past, what can the Election Commission do with them?
Deregister them as voters?
The answer to this particular question is most relevant given the inevitable coming of the next elections soon. Can they be prevented from voting in these elections this time around, if it can be determined by the Commission that the immigrants have become citizens of Malaysia through illegal means and thereby presumed to be fake voters in Malaysia?
Social implications study
Among the terms of reference is a need to investigate whether or not there has been an impact, adversely or otherwise, on Sabahans of the issuance of the blue identity cards to the immigrants.
Should the RCI be bothered with what is basically an exercise in sociology rather than a specific task for the Commission that is working under pressure to produce a comprehensive report within a tight timetable? There may have been such a study done by the academia since this Sabah Problem has been in existence for a long time. I don’t know. If available, this would be handy for the Commission to look at.
Everybody to cooperate
Now that the RCI has been duly formed, let the panel proceed with the task at hand with as few distractions as possible. The responsibility on the shoulders of the commissioners, collectively or individually, is great. The time allocated to them is limited but an extension of time may be necessary. If all witnesses, still around, are willing to come forward to give evidence, that would greatly help the work of the commissioners. Can the witnesses be forced to testify personally or through the affidavits?
This is an important assignment given to a group of prominent citizens of Malaysia. So all eyes will be on them for now, during their deliberations for the next six months, and after they have completed their tasks. Then follows the time when they are expected to produce their recommendations for the authorities to implement – whatever these may be.
We shall see.