KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor says he will probe into claims that a migrant has been appointed as a board member of state-linked firm Sawit Kinabalu.
“We will investigate this matter. I have not received further information. But the name referred to a person appointed to the Sawit Kinabalu is a Sabah MIC chairman, a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN). I will investigate this later.”
He said this when questioned about the matter at a press conference held during the closing ceremony of the two-day Sabah International Business and Economic Summit here today.
On Sunday, activists questioned the identity of Sabah MIC chairman Peer Mohamad Kadir, who allegedly shares the same name as an individual from India who was a witness in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigration in Sabah in 2013.
That migrant in question allegedly obtained a Malaysian identity card after only coming to Sabah in 1984 from Chennai, India.
Daily Express reported that the individual named Peer Mohamad Kadir, who said he was born in Chennai, India, obtained his Malaysian citizenship in 1989 with the help of his uncle, paying RM20 for stamp duty.
The Borneo Plight In Malaysia Foundation and the Gindol Initiative for Civil Society Borneo have questioned whether the same person was appointed to the board of Sawit Kinabalu, a state-linked company.
We think the GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) leaders must put a stop to the speculations if they are not true. GRS must explain the matter to avoid confusion.
“We received a report that someone will lodge a police report about this. The Sabah MIC chief must step forward and explain himself, and whether he is the person dubbed the 116th witness in the RCI in 2013,” they said.
Hajiji is the chairman of the ruling GRS alliance.
The Vibes has tried to reach out to Peer but was refused a response.
Migrant woes in Sabah are part of a long-standing problem, to the point where many political parties have used the issue to gain political mileage when trying to win elections.
Even though it has lasted decades, the problem has not been resolved. According to Sabah Immigration Department estimates, one in every three persons in the state’s nearly 4 million population are migrants. – The Vibes, January 18, 2022
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