Sabah is the site of an Epic battle. While one group aims to collect signatures to call for a royal commission to probe the influx of foreign nationals into the state and how they came to possess Malaysian identity cards (IC). Another group is doing just the contrary.

Yayasan Islam Sabah, led by former chief minister Harris Salleh, wants to organise a signature drive to get federal authorities to acknowledge as valid the surat akuan (statutory declaration) used by these foreigners to obtain ICs and citizenship.

Previously, a group of prominent activists and non-governmental organisations who call themselves the Patriotic Citizens Forum on Identity Cards (Pacific) announced its plan to launch a signature campaign for the formation of the royal commission.

Pacific has claimed that as many as one million, out of the state's four million population, had been issued with ICs.

The influx of these extra people with identity cards (Epic) has caused much concern to the locals, especially the natives.

Easily abused

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) supreme council member Dr Chong Eng Leong and Harris had revealed to the public, probably for the first time, the actual state of affairs surrounding this issue.

Local English newspaper Daily Express quoted Chong, who supported the Pacific campaign, as saying there were two types of ICs issued by virtue of the surat akuan.

The ICs issued around 1966 had information on the statutory declaration forms certified as true and their numbers were given as 'xxxxxx-71-xxxx' to indicate that the holders are Malaysians born outside the country, he added.

This appeared to have encouraged the influx of illegal immigrants.

Three decades later, Chong said Sabah's population recorded a phenomenal increase of 328 percent (from below 700,000 in 1970 to almost three million in 2005).

He said the government realised that using the surat akuan to obtain ICs was easily abused and decided to stop it after April1987 "although thousands still applied after the date albeit back-dated to before that date."

The difference this time, he added, was that the surat akuan was falsified by stating that applicants were born in Sabah when they were not.

Chong also said official meetings were held in Kuala Lumpur on the mechanics of issuing Malaysian ICs to foreigners in the 1980s.

He said this was highlighted during the hearing of his 1999 Likas election petition against the Election Commission and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee.

"Perhaps the authorities concerned should investigate the people involved in those meetings. All the details are available from the notes recorded by the presiding judge himself," he added.

Serious, consistent stance

Earlier, Harris who was chief minister from 1976 to 1985 said the federal government should adopt 'a serious and consistent stance' as well as correct the prevailing misconceptions over the issue.

"It is important to resolve and settle them once and for all. Tell the truth regarding the policies and practices behind the issuance of identity cards and the handling of illegal immigrants," he said.

Harris' Yayasan Islam Sabah is planning its own signature drive to petition the federal government to acknowledge the validity of he surat akuan.

He insisted that if checks were to be carried out, they must also include those in possession of late registration birth certificates, especially those in the interiors, meaning the local born indigenous groups.

Disagreeing with Pacific's claims, he said: "Most IC holders are genuine Malaysian citizens who possess the surat akuan and late registration birth certificates, particularly those from rural areas."

Thus, he stressed, the validity of these ICs should not be questioned.

Illegal immigrants

On the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah, the former chief minister said to a certain extent the federal government was to be blamed for its policies, particularly in the appointment of agencies given the monopoly in handling specific issues such as medical examinations and work permits.

"The tendency for plantation companies, including state-owned or government-linked ones, to employ illegal immigrants must be attributed to the unfair and unreasonable policies such as the imposition of foreign workers levy.

"Plantation companies or employers find it difficult to obtain work permits these days," he added.

He said another issue that warrants examination and serious consideration is whether immigrants are needed by Sabah for its economic activities.

"If they are, then the large-scale deportation of illegal immigrants would not solve Sabah's labour shortage problems," he added.

Harris said the government should allow employers to deal directly with the Immigration Department instead of going through agents.