KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 ― Citizenship was granted within two years of his arrival, a Filipino asylum seeker and now Barisan Nasional (BN) official testified before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating Sabah’s illegal immigrant influx today.
According to Shukur Abdullah, he had fled to Kudat, Sabah in 1984 to escape the sectarian violence then wracking the south Philippines.
“After two years my aunt brought me to the National Registration Department to apply for citizenship, and my uncle filled up the form,” he was quoted as saying by The Star on its website today.
He said he was counselled by the head of his village to use a statutory declaration in order to apply for citizenship, which was subsequently issued in 1986.
“Now I am the secretary for Barisan Nasional Tanjong Kapor branch and have been holding this post for over 10 years,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Shukur, the RCI’s 132nd witness, also said he has dutifully voted in every general election since receiving his citizenship.
Sabah’s problem with naturalised immigrants has long angered locals in the state where nearly a third of the 3.2 million residents are foreigners.
It has been alleged that immigrants from neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines were granted citizenship in return for electoral support to keep BN in power, under a programme dubbed “Project IC” during the administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The RCI was convened in September 21, 2012 and comprises former Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Seri Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, former Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, former Sabah state government secretary Datuk Kee Mustafa, and former Sabah deputy chief minister and former Sabah attorney-general Tan Sri Herman J. Luping.
It was initially scheduled to complete its inquiry on March 20 but proceedings were interrupted by an invasion of Sulu gunmen into Lahad Datu. Its term was later extended to September 20.
