KOTA KINABALU, Dec 12 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang has urged an emergency sitting of the Sabah state assembly to debate the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants which were made public recently.

Describing it as “the greatest letdown”, the opposition lawmaker said that the sitting was required to debate the results of the report and to present it to Parliament.

“Shouldn’t Sabah State Assembly be having an emergency session to debate the report? Why the apathy by Sabah State Government? The people want to see a solution, or else it is a waste of funds and effort,” said the DAP veteran.

The long-awaited report on the illegal immigrants in Sabah was made public last week, some six months after being presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in May this year.

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The 368-page report was largely deemed disappointing for not offering more insight or solutions to the long standing issue.

In announcing the Cabinet’s decision to release the RCI report, last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also said that Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan will head a special committee tasked to look into the panel’s findings and decide on the next course of action.

Lim demanded that the commission release a more comprehensive report allowing the public to view every shred of evidence presented during the nine-month public hearing last year.

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“Why were only 368 pages published when there were over 5,000 pages of testimonies, exhibits and documents? They should publish everything in a show of transparency for the public to assess.

“Will Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who has been appointed as the chair for the Working Committee demand the full release of over 5,000 pages of the report? This is the least he should do,” he said at a Press conference here today.

“Sabahans and Malaysians must demand  the release of the full report. What is the Umno and BN government hiding in releasing less than ten per cent of the report?,” he asked, adding that the report should be the thickest in RCI history in Malaysia.

Lim also questioned the delay in releasing the information to Pairin’s committee, demanding that the government make known the other members of the committee, terms of reference, and the mechanics of the committee and the permanent secretariat.

“This whole thing is a joke. Eight days on, and we do not know anything. What is happening with the one-man Pairin committee? Who are the other members? What are the Terms of Reference?,” he asked.

Noting the response from the attendees of a DAP-organised forum on the RCI last night, Lim said that Sabahans were notably dissatisfied with the report and wanted a more concrete resolution to their problem.

“I am proposing that a re-registration and re-issueing of ICs to Sabahans. This is the only way to solve the problem once and for all,” he said, adding that the idea had been proposed by United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) has also made the same proposal, through its acting president Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau.

However, the commission in its report had dismissed the solution, after weighning it that despite having some merit, it was not viable to implement

During the RCI’s public proceedings, from January to September last year, testimonies from Filipinos and other immigrants revealed how they received their blue identification cards or the MyKad in just a few years after arriving in Sabah and how they had also voted in elections.

The Commission headed by Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, who is also former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak had called 211 witnesses including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim among other notable politicians.

The report came up with one recommendation – to set up a permanent secretariat to address all issues pertaining to illegal immigrants – and that a clandestine operation to issue citizenships to illegal Immigrants dubbed “Project IC” most likely existed.