ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY (RCI) PANEL WILL BOOST 'FD' PROSPECTS?

Panel will boost 'FD' prospects

By: Tan Sri Herman Luping

THE BN government's policy of 1Malaysia, People's First and Performance Now became a reality in Sabah last week when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak decided to listen to the call by Sabahans to scrap the proposed coal-fired power plant in the East Coast.

There was jubilation all around and praises were heaped on both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman for their forward-looking decision on the matter.

Musa himself explained in his speech at the Gerakan Chinese New Year open house held in a major hotel that he was very pleased when the Prime Minister finally made up his mind to scrap the coal fired power supply.

Gas fromBintulu, Sarawak, would be used for the purpose.

Environmentalists and other NGOs have been quick to praise the Chief Minister for his hand in getting the Prime Minister to change his mind concerning the use of coal to generate power in Lahad Datu and the East Coast.

Musa himself said that the fauna, the flora, the wild animals and also the pristine sea of Darvel Bay are all saved from the harmful effects of coal.

A letter writer to the Daily Express's Sunday Forum suggested that the Chairman of Tenaga Nasional, Tan Sri Leo Moggie should resign from his post for putting profits for his company first and endangering the environment in the East Coast of Sabah.

For now, Sabah is one State that is a shining example where the environment is considered more important than the production of power by the use of coal.

Many countries today who use coal to generate power are suffering from the effects of the devastation and pollution to the environment caused by coal generated power.

The countries are China, the United States and Australia.

They are gradually shutting down their coal-fired power plants in favour of more environmental-friendly power plant as a result.

The coal-fired power plants have emitted large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere thus aiding and assisting in the problem of climate change.

Sabahans, therefore, are grateful that their environment is safe.

And as Musa said, Sabahans know how to return the great favour when the time comes.

After all, he said, Sabah is a "fixed deposit" of the BN government and indeed would continue to be one for a long time. (Musa has indeed shown his leadership qualities in the last two general elections of 2004 and 2008.

The decision to listen to the peoples' views and opinion by adopting the policy of Peoples First slogan in respect of the need to preserve the environment would be seen by the people that the BN Government is genuine to place the peoples' interest first.

There is another issue that the people of Sabah are asking the Federal government leaders to consider and that is the call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the presence of the large number of illegal immigrants in Sabah and equally large number of illegal granted Malaysian Identity cards.

 Sabah leaders - from both sides of the political divide - have been very vocal for the call for the government to set up the RCI.

Amongst the first leader to call for the RCI was Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, the Federal Minister of Plantations and also the president of the KadazandusunMurut Party, Upko.

He was followed closely by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin, who is also the President of the PBS as well as the Huguan Siou of the Kadazandusun indigenous community.

(Upko's deputy president, Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing also joined in the call for the setting up of RCI and warned that this issue could harm the BN image at the next election.

Opposition leaders too have also joined in the call for the same.

• The reason why these leaders are calling for the RCI is because the people in Sabah wanted it.
• They wanted the debacle of the Identity Cards and illegal immigrants given citizenship solved immediately.
• These leaders are only listening to the call by their supporters.

And in the case of Bernard, there is an added reason for his focus on the RCI call.

He was made the Chairman of the Select Parliamentary Committee to look into problems of integrity and the IC debacle; but the committee was not getting much support from the civil servants.

And the last straw for him was the continued absence of officials from the National Registration department.

They kept on making excuses for not attending.

And the issue to be discussed in the agenda was about the IC problem in Sabah.

No point in having the committee, he said and so he resigned from it.

Their supporters and indeed the people of Sabah wanted to know the reason/reasons for issuing the identity cards to the illegal immigrants from the Southern Philippines, who are mostly Bajau and Suluk.

Let me make it clear at the outset that a large number of Sabahans are descendants of ancestors from outside the State.

These ancestors are Suluks, Bajaus, Bruneis and Chinese and many more.

Today, the population of Sabah is roughly divided into two types of indigenous communities: the original indigenous - the Kadazandusun Murut and Brunei Malays and the immigrant indigenous, the foreigners.

And of course the Chinese. The original indigenous have been in Sabah for a thousand years; the immigrant indigenous and Chinese came over 200 years ago. They have become part of the country and are identified as "momogun" in the Kadazandusun language.

Until two years ago, the first original indigenous, Kadazadusun Murut were the largest single community in the State. But since the constitutional amendment was made to make all new converts to Islam and who live as the Malays, a choice to call themselves Malays, many have done so.

Besides, the addition of thousands of the former illegals from the Southern Philippines having Malaysian identity cards. The biggest single community in the new demography of Sabah are now the Malays.

This is not the chief concern by the Sabah leaders from both sides of the political divide.

• The concern is the likely shift of loyalty from predominantly British colonial orientation in Malaysia to Filipino orientation.
• The fear is that a future Chief Minister could very well have a strong affiliation with the Philippines, particularly with the Muslim-Filipino south.
• These leaders remind us that we joined in the formation of Malaysia because we shared British colonial experience.

The British wanted to dismantle their colonial administration but they also wanted to continue their influence in the region - through friendship and club association.

This club is known as the Commonwealth whose head is still the Queen of Britain.

The British simply lumped us together with Malaya and became the State number 12 under the new nation name, Malaysia, replacing Malaya.

Indeed, for more than 200 years, our orientation was with Whitehall in London and the common laws of the British were also adopted.

We had a common and historical link with the British.

The Philippines meanwhile was orientated towards, first, Madrid in Spain, and later, the White House in Washington before that country became independent.

The fear then is that we might become part of a nation which is alien to us, alien to our historical beginning.

The fear, too, is that this shift in orientation might bring disability in the governance of our State .

Thus far, after nearly 50 years in Malaysia, the State has grown from strength to strength in political stability, as a democratic country and also in our economic development.

We do not want this to be jeopardised and hence the call for the RCI to the government in Kuala Lumpur.

Let the leaders in KL and in Sabah also look at this request as part of the Peoples' First, Performance Now policy.