In a statement today, Mojuntin addressed the accusation that the local party had not done its part to stem the supposedly covert implementation of Projek IC by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He was commenting on FMT’s report in which Sabah DAP chairman Stephen Wong accused Upko of having turned a blind eye to the alleged citizenship-for-votes scheme.
“First of all, it was an open secret that Mahathir’s Projek IC started in the mid-1980s and it was also the common belief that it started as a ploy to topple the PBS government by changing the demography of Sabah,” Mojuntin said.
“Secondly, when it was done, only Mahathir and a handful of others knew of this ploy. It was not done conspicuously. It was a clandestine operation.
“Thirdly, Upko was not formed yet at that time.”
Wong had made the allegation after Upko acting president Wilfred Madius Tangau had said Mahathir, Pakatan Harapan’s candidate for prime minister in GE14, would only worsen the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah, believed started by Projek IC.
Mojuntin said Mahathir had even admitted to the matter, which was on YouTube for the world to see.
“All this evidence only came out during the RCI (royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah).
“So to expect Upko to raise an objection on something that was not in public knowledge at that time would be ridiculous.
“New evidence had come out during the RCI pointing to Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, as his deputy then.”
Mojuntin, who is also Penampang BN chief, claimed that for political expediency, Wong wanted to “confuse the rakyat by taking the blame away from the sinner”.
“One wonders whether Stephen Wong cares for Sabah or not. The illegal immigrant problem is the mother of all problems for Sabah.
“Projek IC not only succeeded in changing the demography of the state but has brought with it a myriad of social, health and economic problems to this very day.”
According to Mojuntin, Upko has always been consistent in calling for the government to resolve the issue of illegals getting their hands on genuine Malaysian identity documents through the back door.
“The party has never stopped calling for those responsible for Projek IC to be brought to justice since it involves the nation’s sovereignty,” he said.
“Upko has supporting evidence based on its own survey conducted on nearly 1,000 respondents in squatter settlements around the state.
“A significant number of these respondents said that they had obtained their Malaysian ICs for a price of between RM1,000 and RM10,000 each.”
He said these findings had been compiled in 26 volumes of documents and submitted to the RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah.
“Upko had not only gone to the ground to find the root cause of the problem but also consistently pushed for a solution by asking for the recalling, checking and re-issuance of all Malaysian ICs issued in Sabah.
“Therefore, Upko stands fully behind its acting president that the illegal immigrants’ problem would only worsen if Pakatan Harapan forms the government,” Mojuntin said.
He added that it sounded more like a joke when Wong said Pakatan Harapan had accepted Mahathir’s apology for any problems he had created during his tenure as prime minister.
“Upko would like to ask DAP how it could easily forgive and forget somebody who had virtually created this citizenship crisis in Sabah?” Mojuntin asked.
“What is DAP’s stand towards Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim now that they have this information from the RCI?
“Are they still going to endorse Mahathir as Pakatan Harapan’s prime minister candidate and Anwar as their de facto leader?”
He said, as far as Upko is concerned, it will never forgive Mahathir for initiating the clandestine operation to issue ICs to illegal immigrants as exposed during the RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah.
‘DAP: Mahathir a traitor’
Mojuntin also recalled that in 2013, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang stated in DAP’s official portal Roketkini that he considered Mahathir a traitor for his involvement in the illegal issuance of ICs to foreigners.
“And now, without even blinking, Wong said Pakatan Harapan and DAP had forgiven this person they labelled as a traitor?
“With due respect to the Sandakan MP, he seems to have just woken up from a long slumber. Either that or he is just deluding himself,” Mojuntin said.
The RCI concluded in 2014 that Projek IC, a thorny issue among many Sabahans, may have existed.
Chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa, however, said this finding was based on the testimonies of five witnesses, who were not subjected to cross-examination.
He said the finding showed no politicians or the government were involved in the project.
However, BN’s component parties in Sabah insist that the covert scheme had existed.
Pakatan Harapan said the opposition coalition will resolve the issue if it forms the next government.
PH has accused BN of failing to do so despite being in power and the findings of the RCI made public more than three years ago.
Sabah PH: Why didn’t Upko object to Projek IC when Dr M was PM?
Mahathir as PM again will only worsen Projek IC woes, says Tangau
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/12/04/rci-finds-truth-in-projek-ic-allegations/