Legalising illegals never part of the deal: PKR
Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) KK Division wondered whether the Federal Government had discussed with the founding fathers from Sabah, the possibility of granting citizenship to foreigners in the future, which had invariably led to a migrant population explosion in the State.
Its Chief, Christina Liew said, she posed this question on the occasion of Malaysia Day vis-a-vis Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recent justification for the increase, pointing out that they qualified to be citizens because they have been staying in Malaysia for "decades" and can speak Bahasa Malaysia.
"In their discussions with the founding fathers, was this matter raised by the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) or Cobbold Commission as one of the conditions to form Malaysia?
"If you study the IGC Report, nothing was mentioned about any legal provision for the Federal Government to grant citizenship in the event of any influx of migrants to Sabah.
"Therefore, who gave Dr Mahathir the mandate to accept these foreigners as citizens merely on the basis of length of stay and mastering of the national language? That being the case, it can be reckoned that the founding fathers were not fully aware of what lay in store for Sabah when agreeing to join then Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak in forming the Federation of Malaysia.
"Perhaps if they had been told about the foreseeable 'invasion' of foreigners who would be given citizenship status, they might not have agreed to join the other states to form Malaysia," she said in a statement, here.
As a consequence of becoming a part of Malaysia, Liew said the present generation of Malaysians in Sabah is now suffering from the overwhelming presence of foreigners on our shores.
She further contended that it is public knowledge that many foreign migrants were given blue identity cards (ICs) "overnight" after entering Sabah through the back door.
"They didn't have to stay for 'decades' as claimed by Dr Mahathir.
So what is he talking about?" she asked.
Sabah saw a huge increase in population during Dr Mahathir's tenure as premier from 1981 to 2003.
According to replies provided in Parliament last year, Sabah's populace numbered 651,304 in 1970 and grew to 929,299 a decade later (1980).
But in the two decades following 1980, the State's population rose significantly by a staggering 1.5 million people, reaching 2,468,246 by 2000.
Based on media reports, as of 2010, this number has swelled further to 3.12 million, with foreigners making up a sizeable 27 per cent or 889,799 of the total population.
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
