SABAH RCI Reports and memoranda submitted to the authorities, including to then-prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, on ‘Project IC' from Parti Bersatu Sabah were not acted on, the royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah heard today.

NONEPBS sent a memorandum on the matter to Abdullah when a delegation led by PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan paid the PM a courtesy visit in 2007, PBS vice-president Radin Malleh (left) told the RCI.

"The president asked the prime minister to investigate the claims, to form an RCI, and once the identity cards that were issued illegally are ascertained, to solve the issue by cancelling the ICs and sending these people back to their own countries," Radin said.

Asked whether any action had been taken as a result of the memorandum, Radin, who was then PBS secretary-general, said: "Nothing to this day."

He gave the same response when asked about on his multiple police reports and reports to the (then) Anti-Corruption Agency, National Registration Department (NRD) and the Election Commission (EC) on the same issue.

Radin, who was then PBS secretary-general, said the party decided to present the matter to Abdullah after PBS “returned to BN’s fold”, to capitalise on their position as part of the ruling federal government.

He testified that the memorandum highlighted the party’s concern over the “extraodinary” spike in the population of Sabah, the ability of foreigners to obtain ICs and the suspicion that 10 percent of the Sabah electoral roll was made up of those with “dubious” ICs.

He said that the figure was obtained by cross-checking a list of about 80,000 names and identity card numbers claimed as dubious by PBS sources with the electoral roll used in the 1999 election.

‘Politically-motivated to topple PBS’

He also testified that he believes that the issuance of ICs illegally had occurred since 1963, but it was only done in an “organised” manner starting the 1980s, when PBS was in power.

To a question from Sabah Law Association representative Yunof Maringking, the now Sabah rural development minister said that he believes the culprits “probably (had) political motivation”.

“The are probably politically (motivated), that is why I said that the organised issuance of illegal ICs was from the 1980s and the 1990s, and at that time PBS was the government.

“Probably these people, those culprits or perpetrators, had the intention to bring down the PBS government.

“In order to do that, they increased the voters in favour of a certain party. But we cannot overrule that some did it for the money,” he said.

He, however, refused to specify which party this was or who the perpetrators are, prompting Yunof to ask if he was afraid to do so.

“What should I be afraid of? This is a court of law. I cannot repeat hearsay so I don’t want to implicate... just because the forms were those of Umno and Persatuan Bugis forms,” he said.

‘Traitors should be charged in court’

All the same, he said, those behind the illegal issuance of ICs have committed “treason” and should be charged in open court so as to reveal their identities.

He also said that he believes the NRD has a list of the ICs issued illegally and is able to determine which of those are eligible to apply for citizenship due to their years of residency in Malaysia.

He said those who do not qualify to apply for citizenship must have their ICs revoked and be returned to their country of origin.

Radin added that he believes that the current BN administration has the political will to do so, as exemplified by the formation of the RCI sought by PBS since the 1990s.

'PBS shown Umno forms as part of dubious IC give-out'