RCI report early next month
KOTA KINABALU: The findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah will be made public in early December, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised.
Najib, who made the announcement when officiating at UPKO’s convention 2014 here yesterday, also said that Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan has been appointed to head the committee that will scrutinize the RCI’s recommendation.
“We discussed in the Cabinet last night and decided that the RCI findings and recommendations will be made public early next month. Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Pairin will head the committee to scrutinize the findings and recommendations,” he said and was greeted by the thunderous applause of all those attending the opening ceremony yesterday.
Many Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties as well as NGOs have made repeated calls to the Federal Government to make the RCI findings and recommendations public.
Najib, who is also BN chairman, said the federal government’s decision to set up the RCI to investigate problems related to illegal immigrants in Sabah was also the result of solidarity among BN component parties.
“UPKO raised the matter first followed by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and UMNO Sabah also echoed the same call and therefore I agreed to have the RCI set up even though it took some time,” he said, adding that the federal government is very concerned about the issues affecting Sabah.
Najib also assured Sabahans that they would continue to get more revenue from its oil and gas resources. How much however will depend on the global oil price, he added.
The prime minister said apart from the oil and gas royalty of five per cent, Sabah was also given a 10 per cent stake in Petronas LNG Train 9 Sdn Bhd in Bintulu, Sarawak, which would generate additional revenue to the state and its people.
“That’s why I’ve said, you can make a request, but let us negotiate and we have a formula that Sabah would receive more from the oil and gas revenue. This has been clarified by Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman,” he said.
Najib said even though the request for an increase in the oil and gas royalty had yet to be fulfilled, the 10 per cent stake given to Sabah in the Petronas project in Bintulu had met the goal of raising its revenue from oil and gas resources, albeit in a different way.
As the prime minister and minister responsible for Petronas, Najib said he would make sure that Sabah would get more revenue from its oil and gas resources.
He said the federal government’s decision to award Sabah a stake in the Petronas LNG project lived up to the spirit of solidarity and the principle of camaraderie between the federal and state governments as well as among BN leaders.
Najib also assured Sabahans that the federal Government is committed to the 10 Points solution agreed upon in 2011, which allows Christians in Sabah and Sarawak to use the word ‘Allah’ in their worship.
Najib said whatever problems or challenges faced could be overcomed only if the spirit of solidarity and the principle of camaraderie existed, as ironing out problems through collaborative efforts was much easier than doing it alone. However, he said, any action taken should be based on the Constitution and the federal principles as Malaysia was formed on the bedrock of the principles.
“If there are weaknesses, we can resolve them together. We will correct the implementation and interpretation. We have space for discussion even though we may have different opinions, but what is important is that we are committed to BN,” he said.
Najib said, the federal government has its own jurisdiction and likewise, the state government, and to ensure that common goals could be attained, matters arising should be resolved through negotiations and mutual respect for each other’s jurisdiction.
He also reminded Sabahans not to be taken in by what they read or receive via the social media because not all things posted there are the truth and real.
On Sabah’s land issue, he said the federal government had allocated millions of ringgit to the state government to measure and demarcate land to be awarded to natives.