The spat between both sides of the political divide comes amidst speculation that PBS President Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who heads the Technical Working Committee on the RCI Report, had his recommendation that MyKads issued in Sabah be recalled, shot down by the Federal Government.
The Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) described Maximus’ call as “an insult to the intelligence of the people”. “Maximus is virtually telling the people in his constituency that the Federal Government has chosen to ignore Sabah’s illegal immigrant quagmire,” said Sapp Deputy President Edward Dagul. “We are being made to believe that Maximus, as a senior Federal Minister, cannot directly consult with the Prime Minister on this problem.”
“He should consult with the Federal Cabinet members, especially the Prime Minister, on the re-issuance of MyKads in Sabah.”
Dagul, in urging Maximus not to forget that he’s a senior minister in the Federal Cabinet, advised him not to forget Pairin, his own party president. “The Technical Working Committee, headed by Pairin who is also Deputy Chief Minister, had yet to make his Committee’s report public despite having promised this so many times.”
“In fact, Pairin’s credibility is at stake. His integrity is being questioned by the political parties and NGOs.”
Dagul, taking an intelligent guess, surmises that Maximus was in fact sending a subtle message to the people that Pairin, his leader, had failed in his mission to persuade the Federal Government that MyKads in Sabah must be re-issued. He does not see what Maximus hopes to gain from making the MyKad call in public when he’s part of the Federal Government. “This is all a show, coming from Maximus. It’s too unpalatable.”
“We don’t want any wayang kulit (shadow play) from PBS on the MyKad issue in Sabah. Don’t try to hoodwink the people.”
The Sapp Deputy President urged PBS to get the Federal Government to summon up the political will to rid Sabah of people having MyKads which they are not entitled to get and ineligible to hold. “There are no two ways about this. The bogus MyKads and others holding genuine MyKads illegally must be weeded out.”
“Sabah belongs to the people of Sabah. We will not allow illegal immigrants to take over our homeland.”
PBS Vice-President Radin Malleh, among the many party leaders who backed Maximus on his MyKad proposal, reminded that he had been tracking the illegal immigrant phenomenon in the state for many years. “The way out of the problem of illegal immigrants holding MyKads was to offer some sort of programme whereby these people can surrender their documents in return for getting an identity.”
“The Federal Constitution and the Sabah Constitution must decide.”
The programme, added Radin, can be likened to a whitening programme (Program Pemutihan) similar to that run by the Immigration Department for foreigners working illegally in the country.
Maximus, in his statement calling for the re-issuance of all MyKads in Sabah, also urged those holding the documents illegally to come forward and regularize their presence in the state. “It’s not impossible. It can be done. The Federal and Sabah Governments must take the necessary measures since this involves national security.”
“PBS is committed to implementing the RCI Report on illegal immigrants in Sabah. We can first deal with the proven cases of illegal issuance of MyKads.”