Latest news with #ProjectIC
Daily Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
What about ‘Projek IC' holders, Sabah MIC Chief?
Published on: Sunday, May 25, 2025 Published on: Sun, May 25, 2025 Text Size: I must thank Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, State Minister of Finance, for introducing the automatic personal accident insurance scheme to cover all 2.7 million Sabahans aged 30 days to 80 years whose MyKid or MyKad carries Sabah State codes 12, 47, 48, 49, effective from May 1 this year for 3 years. Are Malaysians with the above codes truly Sabahans? Activist-cum-surgeon Dr Chong Eng Leong rightly pointed out that there are Sabahans whose MyKad are coded differently – your DE report on 21 May 2025. But he did not mention that there are hundreds of thousands of Project IC citizens whose MyKad are coded 12. His recent book entitled 'Population Explosion and Demographic Shift in Sabah', with much reference to the 2013 Royal Commission of Inquiry on Immigrants (RCI) in Sabah, reveals that there were more than 120,000 blue old ICs with numbers H0xxxxxx issued to foreigners. Most of them used Sijil Akuan stating that the owner is Sabah-born, thus citizen by operation of law. Their MyKad are coded 12. Advertisement Additionally, his book also reveals that there were 300,000 late registrations of birth by year 1992, and 740,381 by year 2006. But, they did not have inquiry by the Magistrate Court as stipulated under the Birth and Death Ordinance Cap. 123 of Sabah which is still valid by today. With these unendorsed birth certificates as evidence, some of them were issued the blue old ICs, but many were issued the Bunga Raya blue ICs with 12-digits numbers. The Sabah RCI disclosed that by year 2012, from the late registration of birth, there were 139,010 blue ICs issued by operation of law, and 7,810 blue ICs issued by application for citizenship. These estimated 250,000 Project IC citizens whose MyKad are coded 12 – are they Sabahans? One of them is the current Sabah MIC (Malaysia Indian Congress) Chief, appointed a board member of Sawit Kinabalu, a Sabah government-linked company. He was Sabah RCI witness No. 116. (There were 22 immigrants who were issued blue old ICs by operation of law called to be witnesses in the Sabah RCI). In early 2022, former PBS President Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili called on the relevant authorities to carry out a background check on this Sabah MIC Chief. At the same time, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji promised to investigate the citizenship of this immigrant-turned-Malaysian, but nothing come out of it. Can Masidi or the Sabah State government please clarify if these Project IC citizens are truly Sabahans? Curious The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
Daily Express
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
Sabah activist disputes Bung's take on Sabah's development history
Published on: Saturday, May 24, 2025 Published on: Sat, May 24, 2025 By: Sean Augustin, FMT Text Size: PETALING JAYA: Sabah activist Johan Ariffin Samad has dismissed claims that the state saw minimal development under local parties, calling such views unfair and misleading. He highlighted former chief minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh's legacy, including industrial and agricultural advances like the still-operating Desa Dairy Farm in Kundasang. Harris, who led Sabah under local party Berjaya from 1976 to 1985, is still remembered as a key figure in Sabah's economic development. Johan was responding to Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who blamed political instability under local parties (1963–1994) for underdevelopment. Bung claimed 'real change' only began in 1994 when Barisan Nasional (BN) took over. Johan said Umno failed to lift Sabah out of poverty, focusing development on urban areas like Kota Kinabalu while neglecting rural infrastructure. He also criticized Umno for not resolving the undocumented migrant issue despite the RCI on 'Project IC' and for weakening state leadership through the chief minister rotation system. Advertisement 'Bung is the biggest hypocrite for blaming local parties and crediting Umno for development,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
'Sabah for Sabahans' not divisive but a stand for dignity, says Kitingan
KOTA KINABALU: "Sabah for Sabahans" is not just a slogan but a call for a long-overdue restoration of balance, says Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan ( pic ). The Deputy Chief Minister I stressed that it was not meant to be divisive but a call to regain what belongs to Sabah. He was responding to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's statement labelling the sentiment as unproductive and detrimental to national unity. ALSO READ: Pact hinges on seat division 'Sabah for Sabahans is not a slogan of defiance. It is a rightful stand for political dignity, constitutional integrity and historical truth,' he said in a statement on Monday (May 12). Kitingan, who is also state Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister and Sabah STAR president, said Sabahans did not need permission from any federal leader to speak up for their rights. He said Sabah was never meant to be a subordinate state, having formed Malaysia in 1963 as an equal partner alongside Sarawak and Malaya under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). 'Federal leaders must remember that Sabah has the right to its rights. "What is truly divisive is not our assertion of those rights, but the persistent arrogance from the Federal Government that refuses to acknowledge them,' he added. ALSO READ: Hajiji: I'm not weak, I stand my ground for Sabah and GRS Citing decades of centralised control and exploitation, Kitingan listed a series of grievances, including the federal takeover of oil and gas resources in 1976, the erosion of Sabah's equal partner status, and demographic manipulation through Project IC. He also pointed to the economic disparities and political interference that had stifled Sabah's development and autonomy over the years. 'Our forests, land and resources were alienated, our infrastructure lags, and our voices in federal positions remain minimal. Yet we are told to stay silent while federal parties bargain over who gets to rule Sabah,' he said. He insisted that Sabahans must be allowed to chart their own course and that any cooperation with Putrajaya must be based on mutual respect, not subservience. 'We will work with the Federal Government when it benefits Sabah, but we will no longer tolerate manipulation or exploitation. Sabah is not and never was a colony of Malaya," he said. ALSO READ: Barisan to consider forming grand coalition with Pakatan and GRS for Sabah polls Kitingan also said decisions affecting their future would be made by Sabahans themselves, and not in Putrajaya. Ahmad Zahid, who is Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman, recently said that as Sabah is part of the Malaysian federation, maintaining a close relationship with Putrajaya is essential for the state's prosperity. He stressed the need for cooperation between federal and state parties, noting that Barisan intends to contest the seats it won in the 2020 Sabah election. He said that while Barisan had 14 assemblymen and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS, of which Sabah STAR is a component) had 11 at the time, the latter now holds 42 seats because of party hopping. The Unity Government Coalition Secretariat recently announced a Barisan and Pakatan Harapan alliance for the upcoming state election. In response, Chief Minister and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the ruling coalition is prepared to contest solo, maintaining that Sabah-based parties should lead the state government, given their better grasp of local needs and cultural realities.
