KOTA KINABALU: Former High Court judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim has been appointed to head a Royal Commission of Inquiry on Sabah's illegal immigrant problem, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Najib said the RCI panel would include former Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice chancellor Datuk Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, former Sabah Attorney General Tan Sri Herman Luping, former Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Henry Chin and former State Secretary Datuk KY Mustafa.

The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry's secretary-general Datuk Saripudin Kasim was appointed as secretary of the RCI.

The RCI would be given six months to complete its investigation on the influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

The Prime Minister said the RCI's terms of reference were:

- determining the number of immigrants in Sabah that had been given blue identity cards or identity cards or citizenship and if so whether these documents or citizenship was done legally;

- to investigate whether the issuance of blue identity cards or citizenship to immigrants in Sabah was in accordance with the law;

- to investigate whether immigrants in Sabah holding blue identity cards, temporary identification receipts (blue) or citizenship documents had illegally been registered into the electoral rolls;

- to probe whether the authorities had taken any action or carried out any improvements to standard operating procedures (SOP), measures and regulation to avoid any infringement of the law;

- to investigate in detail the SOP, measures and regulations relating to the issuance of blue identity cards or citizenship to immigrants in Sabah by taking into account international standards and norms used in Malaysia and to reccommend any amendments or changes to strengthen or improve the SOP, measures and regulations;

- to investigate the reasons for the increase in Sabah's population in the following categories: i) Sabahans living in the state including those accorded blue identity cards and citizenship through late birth registration, ii) foreign workers (including their families) iii) illegal immigrants (including their families) iv) refugees

and their impact on the electoral roll;

- to investigate the social implications of the issuance of blue identity cards or citizenship to immigrants in the state on Sabahans;

- to determine the number of foreigners in Sabah who have been given blue identity cards or citizenship by taking into account their stateless status.

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