We did our best: RCI member
Published on: Sunday, December 07, 2014
KOTAADVERTISEMENT KINABALU: One of the five Commissioners involved in the enquiry into illegal immigrants in Sabah defended, Saturday, its findings against recent attacks that it attempted to help cover up the truth behind the large presence of foreigners in the State and how they managed to get identification documents. Prof. Datuk Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon told Daily Express that as far as the RCI was concerned, its members did what was required in accordance with the Terms of Reference (TOR) under the Commission of Enquiry Act 1950.ADVERTISEMENT "We did our work based on the 211 witnesses' evidence and what we came across, and now come up with this RCI Report addressed the TOR. It is not correct for any quarters to say that the RCI had worked hand-in-glove with the Government to cover up the truth," he said, when contacted. Dr Kamaruzaman, who was the former Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Vice Chancellor, said it is a free world and people can make innuendoes about the RCI, that the Project IC masterminds and actual culprits have been let off the hook.He was commenting on de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's statement that the RCI report on illegals in Sabah was meaningless verbiage clearing (previous leaders in) Putrajaya of wrongdoing. According to Prof. Dr Kamaruzaman, the Commission received a lot of circumstantial evidence but when they examined it, there was no "smoking gun" (conclusive evidence).
ADVERTISEMENT
"At the mention of Project IC, there seems to be a pre-conceived idea and evidence may point to the Government but there is no 'smoking gun'." On reports disputing that the Government was not involved in the influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah, he said this was not specifically stated in the Report. "Nowhere in the Report has it been mentioned. Do you find it there? "Based on evidence from the five witnesses from the National Registration Department (JPN), our conclusion was that Project IC may have existed. It was a probability. That's why they must read the Report to draw their own conclusions and find out what needs to be addressed," he said."Obviously, the Report does not carry any executive summary. We have purposely left it out because we want the people to read the Report which also contains a summary of the proceedings, among other aspects."On why the Report did not spell out the Sabah IC proposal from former Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee as one of the viable solutions (to the issuance of fake identification documents), Dr Kamaruzaman said it could be developed from the proposed Permanent Committee on Foreign Migrants in Sabah.Asked about the exclusion of the word "Royal" from the cover of the Report, he said it did not come as a shock to him because the Commission was aware of it at the printing stage."Prior to the printing, we had actually referred to other RCI Reports for the title and found that the word 'Royal' was left out in some of them. To us, it was fine so we followed the format.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
"In fact, the word 'Royal' was left out from the RCI Report on the Linggam Case but nobody questioned. Why now?" Dr Kamaruzaman further clarified that the word 'Royal' does not even appear in the letters of appointment to members of the Commission. "We are appointed by Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and also authorised to enquire, not inquire, in line with the Commission of Enquiry (not Inquiry) Act 1950."