By : MURIB MORPI
KOTA KINABALU: Former Chief Minister, Tan Sri Harris Salleh, yesterday denied that there was ever a 'Project IC', a scheme allegedly created to yield Malaysian citizenship to immigrants in Sabah in lapse for their votes for a supervision in Sabah.
Harris, who appeared as a declare in front of a Royal Commission of Inquiry upon Immigrants in Sabah (RCI), testified that no such plan ever existed as claimed by certain quarters.
"I never heard about plan IC, you only read it in a newspapers sometimes, some people done accusations in blogs though you never read them because because should you engage my self in all this false stories.
"I do not wish to be involved in all this, they never have proof, they only speak about it, political talk, income talk," he testified during a second day of a five-day proceeding.
Harris, a sixth arch minister of Sabah from 1976 to 1985, was asked by RCI Chairman, Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, if he has any comments upon a claim in regards to a "Project IC".
"Even if there were anything, a ICs were probably given in a hurry, because they were giving it i! n thousa nds as well as thousands. All those concerned, they were asked to speed up (the process).
"As far as you know, officially or unofficially, plan IC does not exist. you can say this honestly," he said.
Conducting officer, Manoj Kurup, had asked Harris to explain either he had done a quote in a book '007: Lelaki Malaysia Terakhir' by Mutalib MD.
Harris declined to give a direct answer, observant that all a bootleg activities attributed to him in a book were lies.
"I never did anything illegal. So you do not wish to have to answer that, because what is created in a book are all illegal, not true," he said.
Harris additionally denied allegations that he was involved, during slightest in instructing that identification cards are to be released to immigrants, observant he did not have a management to give such instruction even as a Chief Minister then.
According to him, a management to issue permanent residence standing as well as citizenship lies only with a Federal Government as well as a State Government has no privilege during all upon a matter.
"We only assisted, not a sovereign government, though a individuals to fill a form, you do not have a energy (to give approval).
"I believe in a Federal Constitution it says that if a sovereign supervision thinks that so as well as so is eligible, even if a State rejected (it), a sovereign supervision can still accede to entrance to Sabah, if it thinks that it is necessary in a seductiveness of a nation,
"I'm not sure about a legal aspect, if this is scold or not, though you was sensitive similar to that. you was told once in a assembly in Kuala Lumpur, they said, you a State do not speak as wel! l much, you have a energy underneath a Constitution," he said.
Asked by a Commission if he knows either a information given to him was correct, he said: "No, unfortunately I'm not a counsel though you was told so".
To a apart subject from Commissioner Tan Sri Herman J Luping, Harris sensitive that a State Government (had) never categorized in any policy that an newcomer contingency be a Muslim to be famous as interloper in Sabah.
He pronounced there were concerns however, that if a refugees were not properly resettled, it may means problems in a growth of Sabah. He added there were additionally seductiveness in a refugees from a Philippines following a boom in a construction zone during a time of his tenure.
"Most importantly, a sovereign supervision (had) concurred as well as supposed these refugees to stay in Malaysia, as well as you were told that there was additionally a UN convention to accept refugees during a time," he said, adding that a policy upon refugees has remained a same until currently since it was introduced by a afterwards Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj.
On how most immigrants as well as refugees were released citizenship during his tenure, Harris said, he had no thought as a sovereign supervision never reported a make a difference to a State.
However, in a created make a difference he submitted to a Commission, Harris had mentioned that there were an estimated of around 150,000 refugees from a Southern Philippines in Sabah during a peak of their emigration into a State in 1973.
As to a claim that immigrants in Sabah seemed to be removing Blue IC as well as citizenship during a rate faster than a locals, he pronounced that subject should be posed to a Federal agencies endangered as well as ! not to a State as a make a difference was underneath a Federal's purview.
Another dual witnesses, Statistics Department Director, Norezan Wahid as well as Deputy Director of Citizenship Division, National Registration Department, Nik Norashikin Nik Mansur, were called to attest after Harris.
Norezan in his testimony sensitive there were 3.2 million people in Sabah formed upon a race census hold in 2010. Out of this figure, he said, about 889,000 were non-citizens.
Norashikin, meanwhile, pronounced 66,682 immigrants were released citizenship in between 1963 as well as Oct final year, of that a infancy or about half were immature field who declared Malaysia as their nation of bieing innate in their application forms.
For those who were innate outward Malaysia, successful field from China represented a greatest series during over 13,000, Indonesia during second place with over 7,000, as well as followed by Hong Kong as well as a Philippines during third as well as fourth. (BP)
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