ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS & ‘DUBIOUS CITIZENS’ NOT JUST A SABAH ISSUE ANYMORE BUT NOW A NATIONAL ISSUE AS IT ALSO AFFECTED PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

RCI on aliens gets Bersih boost

Bersih's national steering committee has stressed the need to train members of the public to gather evidence of electoral fraud.

KOTA KINABALU April 9, 2012: Election watchdog Bersih will add the Sabah-driven demand for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants and ‘dubious citizens’, to its call for electoral reforms.

Berish chairperson S Ambiga said that the illegal immigrants and ‘dubious citizens’ were not just a Sabah issue anymore but was now a national issue as it also affected Peninsular Malaysia.

“We will certainly be talking about it because it is not just a Sabah problem. It is also happening in West Malaysia and we shouldn’t allow it to happen in any part of Malaysia. We cannot treat it as solely a Sabah problem,” she said.

She advised the organizers of the “Jom 100” campaign to focus on a complete solution to the problem of the burgeoning population of illegal immigrants in Sabah and related issues by pushing for a RCI to investigate the scandal while at the same time campaigning for a 100% voter turn out in the coming general election.

Meanwhile, the Bersih national steering committee member Anne Lasimbang stressed the need to train members of the public to gather evidence of electoral fraud as well as registration of phantom voters.

She agreed with Ambiga that allegations must be substantiated for it to be taken to court later.

She was referring to a series of past reports by opposition leaders alleging concerted efforts by the Barisan Nasional coalition operatives recruiting foreign workers as voters in Selangor after it fell to the opposition in the last general election.

Another committee member, Andrew Ambrose Mudi, better known as Atama, said the evasive moves by the government to calls to set up the RCI had prompted Sabah Bersih to focus its energy to push for its establishment.

He called on concerned Sabahans to join the peaceful protest rally on April 28 at the Padang Merdeka from 2pm to 4pm to force the government to listen to their worries.

He said they had nothing to be afraid of as they were entitled to gather under the recently passed Public Assembly Bill.

He said Sabah Bersih was also considering organising another peaceful rally possibly during the Kaamatan celebrations in late May to further drive home the message.

Also in attendance were the youth leaders and members of the opposition parties here namely PKR, DAP and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

Queville To