The call comes after the High Court in Kuching ordered Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government on Sept 3 to implement Undi18 amendments by Dec 31.
Judicial commissioner Alexander Siew had granted the legal challenge filed by five Sarawakian youths to challenge the decision of the previous government, then led by Muhyiddin Yassin, not to implement the Undi18 amendments by July.
Sabah PH Youth chief Phoong Jin Zhe and Upko Youth chief Felix Joseph Saang contended that the updating exercise was not a feat beyond the government’s capabilities.
“We urge the government to withdraw and update all identity cards or MyKads and only issue them to those eligible. This is not impossible,” the leaders said in a joint statement here today.
They said the national registration department (JPN) had updated the identity card in the country several times before.
“They can use the same concept but with stricter filtering. If it cannot be done simultaneously across the country, then the government should opt to start in Sabah.”
According to Phoong and Saang, this was because Sabah had many cases of people holding dubious identity cards.
Welcoming the High Court’s decision on the Undi18 implementation, the leaders, however, stressed that the automatic registration of voters has to go through a transparent mechanism.
They said this was to ensure that it would not involve those who have obtained identity cards illegally.
They pointed out that the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah had previously found that identity cards were issued to undocumented migrants through malpractice and abuse of power in the state.
“We do not want to see those who have obtained their identity cards illegally take this opportunity to spread out,” they said.
The RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah was set up in 2012 to investigate problems related to illegal immigrants in the state. It began its public hearings on Jan 14, 2013, and wrapped up later that year.
Those called to give their testimony included former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
The complete report, which was made public on Dec 3, 2014, showed evidence that the controversial ‘Project IC’ may have indeed existed.
Project IC is a reference to alleged systematic granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants in the 1980s and 1990s, effectively changing the state’s demographics.
However, the report said no political parties were involved in the granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants, and attributed the problem to corrupt officials.