'Speed up granting of documents to locals'
Published on: Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: THE Government must speed up the process of granting Malaysian documents to locals who do not have proper documents despite having proper and known familial relations with other Sabahans in the State.Kapayan Assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi quoted Kimanis MP and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman who reported that there are several Kadazans, Dusuns and their children in Kimanis who have applied for late birth certificates and MyKads for years but still have not received any approval for their applications."I also have repeatedly appealed to the Government to give the MyKad to all natives who are still holding red ICs. ADVERTISEMENT I wrote to the National Registration Department (NRD) on several cases sent to me."One of these is a Murut, now in his 80s, who once served as a border scout in Pensiangan. He has served the people and the nation, but the nation has failed him," he said when debating on the motion of thanks to the Head of State's address.Bosi asked the Government on their plan of action to solve the problem as these people are in desperate need of help.ADVERTISEMENT He added that there should be no need to ascertain their native status or if they could speak Malay, one of the requirements for citizenship in the country.Instead, he said, if the applicant, a Murut for example, speaks and lives like a Murut, then that person is a Murut.
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"I said to the NRD officers, do not be surprised if these people cannot speak Malay because they are indigenous people of Sabah. They are truly natives of Sabah," he said.During the debate, the veterinarian turned politician also asked the Government on the status of investigation on the death of pygmy elephants in the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve, a concession of Sabah Foundation.He said if it is true that the poison used in the killing were Cadmium, Lead and Mercury, then there should be more wildlife deaths in the area, including people who live in the forest.Furthermore, he said the statement by Malaysian Oil Palm Council (MPOC) CEO Dr Kalyana Sundram that there is no proof that workers in the oil palm plantation, where the carcasses were found, were involved in the incident and that it is probable that the pygmies were poisoned elsewhere, showed that Kalyana was trying to cover the plantations within the Sabah Foundation concessions."My advice is, better don't comment on the poison because it only shows his weakness in this issue. He also mentioned that 'wildlife rescue unit' which MPOC formed and funded had gone to all corners of the forest to investigate what had happened to the pygmies."I, and many others in the conservation community, are very curious to know, what did this team find? What is the status of investigation now? What did the police find so far?" he said.Bosi said as a veterinarian, he could not accept the claim that the poisons, listed by the Government, were responsible for the deaths of the pygmies and urged the Government to send the samples to laboratories for 'second opinion'.He proposed that the tests pay attention to a type of poison containing 'Zinc Phospide', a type of rat poison.He said he had already shared the information with the Wildlife Department and directed them to a specific pharmacy in Tawau as well as a company that bought the poison in large quantity before the pygmies were found dead.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"Because the pygmies were found within Sabah Foundation's concession area, careful investigation must be carried out until the culprits are caught. I think the good name of Sabah Foundation must be preserved."This issue has become an international issue now," he said. – Tracy Patrick