KOTA KINABALU – All eyes were on appointed Sabah assemblyman Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee during this morning’s state sittings as he called for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor not to reject his motions.
Yong, who is a former Sabah chief minister, had filed three motions, namely for the creation of a Sabah IC, for the state to demand the return of Labuan to Putrajaya, and for the release of the classified Australian probe into the Double Six air crash in 1976.
He pointed out that state Speaker Datuk Kadzim Yahya, through his office, had already rejected his motion regarding the proposed Sabah IC on the grounds that the issuance of MyKad comes under the National Registration Act and needs to be taken up at the federal level.
In arguing his case, Yong said the National Registration Department only has the role to register and that the purview of granting citizenship comes under the federal government.
Instances of migrants being granted citizenship by the federal government, he said, were evident following the testimonies from witnesses during the royal commission of inquiry on irregular migrants in Sabah.
“We now know of the issuance of MyKads to those who are not supposed to get them. The integrity of the MyKad has been destroyed by this.
“The Sabah IC will not be in conflict with national laws. The federal government has the power to issue citizenships to non-Malaysians, but will not have the power to issue Sabah IC, and therefore, has no power to grant the status of being a Sabahan to the people.
“I would like to emphasise that not all MyKad holders can be Sabahan,” he said during his policy debate speech today.
Sabah IC ‘more than just a provincial card’
The privileges of Sabah IC, he said, could vary with examples such as exclusive investment into Sabah Amanah Saham, but will not conflict with voting rights, as this is protected under the constitution.
Yong said the Sabah IC will be more than just a provincial card or the residential card like the ones used in China by its provincial governments.
He also noted that the issuance of Sabah IC would assist the state to distinguish the real Sabahans from migrants through interviews similar to citizenship interviews.
“The Sabah IC does not contravene federal law… Besides, it is designed to protect Sabah rights,” he said.
Yong also noted the process of granting Sabah IC would also be done transparently to curb abuse in past instances involving the issuance of the native certificate.
The issuance of the native certificate is currently frozen after cases of issuance involving non-Sabahans had crept up.
With the certificates, non-Sabahans had reportedly used it to obtain lands and other special privileges reserved to the indigenous community in the state.
Several assemblymen namely Datuk Ewon Benedick (Upko-Kadamaian) Justin Wong (Tanjong Kapor-independent) and Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak (Usukan-Umno) took part in questioning Yong over the matter, forcing the speaker to extend Yong’s policy speech over the 10-minute time frame.
Give us back Labuan for integration, security…but in due course
On returning Labuan back to Sabah, Yong said the federal government had failed to deliver its five objectives when the island was handed over in 1984 via a constitutional amendment in the state assembly.
According to the assembly Hansard the same year, Yong said the handing over Labuan should be done for the sake of integration, security, and development.
“But all of these failed…in recent times, former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh (the chief minister at the time of the handing over) had also changed his mind now and wanted Labuan to be returned to Sabah,” he said.
However, Yong said the matter should not be rushed as it could result in Sabah’s request being immediately rejected.
Yong said he has already prepared the paperwork and legislature to do this, adding that in about two to three years’ time, the matter could reach Parliament, and thereafter, to the Council of Rulers, before the island could be returned to Sabah.
The process, he said, is important, as it involved the alteration of boundaries in Malaysia, especially Sabah.
Prompt federal govt to release details of Double Six tragedy investigations
On the Double Six tragedy, Yong said the state should also start the process of demanding the federal government to make public the Australian investigation into the aircrash.
The Double Six incident refers to the air crash involving an aircraft manufactured by Australian GAF Nomad on June 6, 1976, near Sembulan here.
The crash killed almost half of Sabah's cabinet lineup, which included the then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens.
Decades after the tragedy, conspiracy theories continue to circulate about the air crash.
The travelling entourage, then, had just concluded oil talks in Labuan with then-Petronas chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and were on their way back to Kota Kinabalu when the crash happened.
Following the air crash, aircraft manufacturer Australian GAF Nomad, accompanied by Australian Department of Transport officials, launched an investigation to prove that the crash was not due to mechanical issues.
While the probe was completed some four months later, the full report was never made public. Instead, it was classified under the Official Secrets Act.
“In the local news recently, family members of the air crash victims want the probe to be published.
“I have written to the National Archive of Australia some years ago to have the report released under the Freedom Information Act.
“But this was rejected by a Commonwealth nation. I believe this was the Malaysian government.
“The rejection was on the ground that it would affect Australia’s ties with the Commonwealth nation,” said Yong. – The Vibes, March 22, 2022
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