UK Base HR Set TOR For RCI

My committee set-up under a United Kingdom-based Human Rights Foundation Malaysia to study Sabah problems especially in regards to issue of sovereignty, disenfranchisement and the Malaysia Agreement has come up with a comprehensive proposal for both the Federal Government of Malaysia and the Malaysian Parliament to consider as term of reference (TOR) for the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the large presence of illegal immigrants, dubious Malaysian identity cards and phantom voters in Sabah.

Our proposal is for the TOR to reflect on the following concerns or points :

The extraordinary increase in population in Sabah since 1963 vis-à-vis neighbouring Sarawak which had a higher population than Sabah in 1963 and now has a much lower population comparatively;

How many people in Sabah are citizens; permanent residents; temporary residents; stateless; illegal immigrants; and foreigners with valid travel papers;

How many of the names on the electoral rolls are phantom voters drawn from dubious citizens and/or foreigners and measures to clean up the Electoral Rolls;

The rise in the number of Muslim state seats from 20 in 1994 to 32 subsequently while the number of non-Muslim Native/Chinese seats remained at 28;

The rise in the number of Muslim parliamentary seats from 8 in 1994 to 13 subsequently while the number of non-Muslim Native/Chinese seats remained at 12;

Why the number of non-Muslim Natives in Sabah have been falling dramatically since 1963;

How many genuinely non-Muslim Natives in Sabah have been classified as Muslims by the National Registration Department;

Run suspected dubious citizens and suspected instant Natives in Sabah through a checklist of personal questions to ferret out wrong-doers;

provide immunity to suspected dubious citizens and suspected instant Natives themselves in return for information on how they became citizens, instant Natives and ended up on the electoral rolls;

Provide immunity to whistle-blowers on the Elections Commission; in the National Registration Department and any other government department which can help piece together the picture on the staggering population rise in Sabah; and the phenomenon of dubious citizens; instant Natives; and phantom voters;

Enlist the help and testimony of genuine Malaysian citizens in Sabah to meet the objectives of the RCI;

Investigate why the Election Commission has rushed through Parliament a law stating that the Electoral Rolls cannot be challenged once gazetted;

Investigate, determine and recommend by way of punitive measures against wrong-doers;

Those who obtained MyKads fraudulently to be stripped of the document and there should be no amnesty or offer of permanent resident. The Federal Constitution is clear on this;

Criminal charges to be brought against NRD, and Elections Commission officials who participated in the heinous crime of issuing MyKads to illegal immigrants and padding the electoral rolls with their names. The charge can be one of sedition and treason and not something relatively minor like the falsification of official documents followed by the proverbial slap on the wrist.

By : DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN (sabahkini)