Jeffrey: Report an 'eyewash' to save Dr M
MalaysiaKini.com
Dec 3, 2014

Veteran Sabah politician Jeffrey Kitingan has described the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) report on foreigners in the state as an "eyewash" to save former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"The people of Sabah are unhappy," the State Reform Party (Star) chairperson told Malaysiakini.

He said it was "impossible for the government to be blameless" with regard to the "Project IC" when identification cards were produced by the government.

He added that contents of the report were "disappointing and pointless" despite the commission taking a long time to unveil its findings and recommendations.

"Is this all they have come up with after taking such a long time to produce the report?" he asked.    

Another term used for "Project IC" is "Project M", where the "M" stood for Mahathir, who is often described as the mastermind behind the alleged granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants in return for votes.

Jeffrey has been critical of the alleged project and even described it as a "dangerous, ticking time bomb".

He previously said the government's lack of action against the fake Sabahan/Malaysian identity cards as "treasonous".

RCI clears gov't and political parties

However, the RCI report released this afternoon, though acknowledging the possibility of such a scheme taking place, had cleared the government and political parties of any involvement.

According to the report, syndicates comprising former National Registration Department officers were to be blamed.

Last year, when testifying before the commission, Mahathir denied any knowledge of such an operation.

"I never knew about Project IC until recently," he had said.

The former premier also told the commissioners that he was not concerned about being linked to the so-called project, as his name was used everywhere.

Meanwhile, Penampang MP Darell Leiking expressed his dismay with the findings of the RCI report.

"I simply cannot believe it when the report stated that the massive influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah is due to the work of syndicates.

"It is common knowledge that there exists an attempt to change the demographic pattern in the state in order to ensure the survival of BN," he said in a statement today.

Leiking also dismissed the suggestion that a joint committee headed by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Joseph Pairin Kitingan be set up to deal with the issue.

"When the results of the RCI which had been requested by many parties had been so disappointing, what more could we ask from the committee that he will chair?

"Will we see another disappointment when the committee will have no power at all but only to recommend?" asked Leiking.

There were also several reactions from the Twitterverse regarding the RCI report tabulation, including from prominent lawmakers like Nurul Izzah and Bung Moktar Radin.

PKR vice-president Nurul, who re-tweeted DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang's tweet on a Malaysiakini report titled "Kit Siang tweets frustration over RCI report" added that the frustration should be a "national sentiment".

Meanwhile, Bung, who is the BN MP for Kinabatangan, tweeted, "To make people happy is easy…but it is difficult to keep them happy."

Prominent activist and former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan took a jibe at pro-government cybertroopers for the multitude of comments and posts on social media in support of the report.

"Ah, the inarticulate cybertroops are out in force. Wonder why?" she tweeted.

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