Published on: Sunday, November 22, 2009 |
Kota Kinabalu: Sri Tanjung Assemblyman Jimmy Wong has lodged a counter report, asking police to investigate the authenticity of the Native Certificate that he obtained about 30 years ago.
Speaking to reporters, Saturday, he said he read the Daily Express on Nov.
19 about a police report lodged against him by Sabah Umno Youth chief, Azman Roslan and Sabah Upko Youth chief, Arthur Sen, to investigate the Native Certificate in his possession.
Sekong Assemblyman Datuk Samsudin Yahya had earlier questioned Wong's eligibility to possess a Native Certificate during the proceedings of the recently-concluded Budget sitting.
"I therefore lodged the police report at 4.20pm at Karamunsing Police Station on Friday because I want the police to scrutinise the Native Certificate to see whether it is genuine or not," he said.
"If it is proven to be fake (and) so this involves a cheating case and falsifying of documents I must take this matter to the court because I have been cheated and as a result I was accused of cheating the public," he said.
He also clarified that he never asked that other Native Certificate holders be investigated when he was involved in an exchange of words with BN assemblymen in the State Assembly.
"My sentence was cut off because the microphone was switched off. What I said was that if you want to investigate me you should also investigate all those illegals who are holding blue ICs," he said.
Wong said he was also puzzled over why Samsudin raised his Native Certificate issue when he should be focussing on the Budget.
Wong said he obtained the certificate more than 30 years ago as "my mother's blood connection is Sino-Kadazan (through) my grandmother".
"And I never used it (Native Certificate) or abused it," he said, while claiming that the move to question his integrity in the State Assembly was politically-motivated.
On the special committee being set up to investigate him, Wong shot back, asking if the State Government ever set up a special committee to investigate illegal immigrants in the thousands who have MyKads in Sabah.
"They treat me worse than foreigners. I'm a Malaysian born in Sabah and I think this is an insult to the aspirations of the 1Malaysia concept coined by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
"Questioning the identity of local born people is not good for national unity. In fact, I was made to understand that there are Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, especially those at the divisional level, who originally came from neighbouring countries, and were brought up here after obtaining the MyKad, and this should be investigated," he added.
"Never mind, if I am the small fish being used to catch the big fish," he said.
"If I am dirty then I challengeÉis there any BN Assemblyman who is cleaner than me? I challenge them to declare their assets," he said, adding that despite being the only real elected opposition people's representative, "we are not here to be bullied".
Sabah DAP chief Dr Hiew King Cheu who was also at the Press conference said it was disappointing that the BN assemblymen chose the House to raise such issue instead of concentrating on the debate on the State 2010 Budget.
"This shows the quality of the BN assemblymen. I have asked many Sabahans about this and they tell me that this is nonsensical," he said.
