Upko Youth wants new MyKads issued in Sabah
Published on: Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Kota Belud: Komulakan Upko reiterated its full support for the recalling of all identity cards (MyKad) issued in Sabah and for a re-registration to be done to issue new MyKad for genuine Malaysians in the State.Its Chief Ewon Benedick said issuance of MyKad is a security issue which topped the list of concerns by genuine Sabahans. "When you issue MyKad to illegitimate individuals, it opens the door to them to be part of the public service, security team, electoral list and whatever opportunities the locals are privileged to. That is tantamount to selling national sovereignty which will lead to the kind of infamous Lahad Datu intrusion in 2013," said Ewon.
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"Furthermore, the finding of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCI) revealed that the Project IC was in fact an organised event to provide identification cards to illegal immigrants which changed the entire social and political landscape in Sabah after they were allowed to participate in the general election. Until today, we are wondering why there was no concrete action by the authorities to rectify the situation apart from the setting up of RCI to investigate the issue," he said. "In the recent visit by the Deputy Prime Minister cum Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, he announced that more than 28,500 fake MyKad applications were deleted by the National Registration Department (NRD). Doesn't this confirm the seriousness of the issue?
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"What other action has been taken on these fake applicants? Certainly you cannot allow them to stay illegitimately in the State after knowing they are illegals, especially when you have all the details of their whereabouts," said Ewon. Ewon who is also Upko Kota Belud Chief also raised his concern on the proposed 'Majis Himpunan Rakyat – Membantah Penarikan MyKad di Sabah by a group of NGOs on May 31.
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"While we respect the right for public assembly, our simple logic tells us why worry if you have not done anything illegal? And why should you oppose something like recalling the MyKad if you really possess the genuine IC after having gone through the right procedure like everyone of us did? This gathering justifies the need to recall MyKads just like what we have been consistently proposing."The RCI report also revealed the element of corruption within NRD in issuing identification cards to syndicates which end in the possession of illegal immigrants who bought the ICs for a price of between RM2,000 and RM3,500. "Because of what the corrupt NRD officers have done, we, the people, reiterate our demand for a reissuance of the MyKad. To us, anyone who did not support this call is supporting the corrupt way of issuing the MyKad," said Ewon.He said the authority has the legal and moral responsibility to take action. "We also hope that the leadership have the political will to resolve this longstanding issue dubbed 'the mother of all problems' in Sabah. A State Barisan Nasional meeting specifically to discuss the mechanism of problem solving for this issue will certainly help increase the trust level of the people that the State government really cares about their appeal," said Ewon. Ewon also wondered whether the organiser of the Himpunan Rakyat and their members were part of the 1.2 million signatories of the Citizens' Declaration propagated by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed which aimed to topple the present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak. "Project IC, as evidenced in the RCI report existed during the Mahathir era as Prime Minister, and we wonder if the beneficiaries of the project are once again part of his agenda today. We must not dismiss the possibility. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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