According to Siambun, the issuance of the Sabah Card is part of the party’s core agenda and there has been no decision to scrap the proposal to date.
“Neither the party’s president nor the deputy president or any of the Supreme Council members have suggested scrapping the proposal,” he said in a statement today.
He added the state Cabinet ministers have not discussed the issue either.
As such, he said the statement by Lasimbang is most likely her personal opinion as the new state government is fully committed to solving this long-outstanding problem in relation to illegal immigrants and dubious citizenships.
“Based on what I read, the proposed Sabah Card was not included in Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto. But that does not mean it should be scrapped all together.
“Sabahans want solutions given by Sabahans and not one that is dictated from outside of Sabah.
“Yes, it is not included (in their manifesto) but I believe this should not be the sole reason why it cannot be implemented.”
He asserted that the state government is led by Warisan with partners from Pakatan Harapan and Upko and thus the party will need time to convince PH, particularly DAP, on the need to have the Sabah Card as one of several long-term solutions for the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah.
He said since Warisan and Upko share the same opinion on the matter, he believed PH’s PKR would be agreeable as well.
Siambun said the Sabah Card is necessary for the sake of the state’s security because by issuing the Sabah Card, the threat of militants or extremists who use Sabah as a transit point to travel to West Malaysia can be reduced.
Furthermore, he said it will also help to screen Projek IC holders in the state, a problem that has remained unresolved even though the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah was completed in 2014.
“Lest we forget, there was a report of Islamic State militants attempting to carry out an act of terror during last year’s SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Siambun also proposed that the issuance of the Sabah Card should be debated in the upcoming state assembly sitting to allow the elected representatives to deliberate on it.
“Perhaps it will be good if our state assemblymen vote on the proposal to issue the Sabah Card.
“Personally, I think there is no problem at all for Warisan to proceed with the issuance of the proposed Sabah Card.
“However, since this issue has caught the interest of other political parties and has become a hot topic on social media as a result of Lasimbang’s statement, perhaps it will be good if we allowed everyone to voice their opinions in a transparent manner.
“The state assembly would be the best forum for decisions.”