Sabah RCI findings to be released today

The much-anticipated Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on illegal immigrants in Sabah will finally be released in Kota Kinabalu today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak agreed to make the report public during a cabinet meeting last month after taking into consideration the seriousness of Sabah’s illegal immigrants issue.

He said that the government’s decision to table the RCI report showed its earnestness in wanting to resolve the issue.

The RCI was set up on Aug 11, 2012 and chaired by former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim.

Its other members were Universiti Malaysia Sabah former vice chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, Kuala Lumpur ex-police chief Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, ex-state secretary Datuk Kee Mustafa and former deputy chief minister Tan Sri Herman J. Luping, who is also an ex-state attorney general.

The proceedings began in January 2013 with Manoj Kurup, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Jamil Aripin of the Attorney-General's Chambers appointed as conducting officers to assist the commission in questioning the witnesses.

In his opening statement, Manoj said the conducting officers would first adduce evidence from a historical perspective from witnesses who have expertise in history and anthropology.

He said witnesses from various government departments such as the National Registration Department, the Immigration Department, the Election Commission, the Statistics Department, and the Sabah State Chief Minister's Office would be called to testify.

He also said evidence would also be gathered from individuals from several countries like the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Indonesia, who were in possession of various documents used for identification like the 1MM-13, entry permits, green and blue ICs.

During the proceedings, which ended in September 2013, the commission had called 211 witnesses including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar denied involvement in the so-called 'Project IC' in Sabah during his time as member of the federal cabinet, including when he was deputy prime minister until his sacking in 1998.

In fact, he told the commission that he did not even know that it was dubbed 'Project IC', but had heard there was a special task force which dealt with the admission of foreigners and gave them identity cards (ICs) in the state.

"Given my career as a cabinet member and even as the deputy prime minister, I was never invited to attend the National Security Council meetings or any briefings on the special task force, nor had there ever been a report presented to the cabinet," he said.


The National Registration Department (JPN) director-general, Datuk Jariah Mohd Said also denied having issued identity cards to foreigners in the state under a project known as "Projek Mahathir" (Mahathir Project).

She told the commission that the allegations contained in a book written by MD Mutalib was not true.

"The statements are not true. No identity cards are issued under 'Projek Mahathir'," said the 208th witness when questioned by conducting officer Manoj Kurup.

In August 2013, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, the ex-political secretary to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, denied allegations that he had been involved in the issuance of identity cards.

He told the commission, he only found out about the project from his son, who had watched news coverage of the RCI on television.

"He told me that my name had been linked to the project. But I ignored the matter as I wasn't involved," he said.

He told the commission that throughout his period as Dr Mahathir's political secretary he had never heard of the term 'IC Project'.

The proceedings also received testimonies from Filipinos and other immigrants, which revealed how they received their blue identification cards or the MyKad.

It also revealed how they had also voted in elections.

The Commission presented its report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in May of this year.

Chief Secretary to the government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa is expected to release the report to the media at the Tabung Haji complex in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah later today.