Yong (centre) and his senior leaders singing the party’s anthem during the SAPP Congress 2020 in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday (Sept 3).
KOTA KINABALU: A draft enactment for Sabah identity card (IC) has been submitted to the state government by the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).
The Sabah IC Enactment 2022 draft, prepared by the party’s team of lawyers, was submitted to the State Internal Affairs and Research Office some two months ago, said SAPP president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
He said he had also followed up the matter with the Sabah Internal Affairs and Research Secretary Datuk Awang Shaminan Sahari.
“Although my motion for the state assembly to debate the Sabah IC was rejected, my message over the issue has reached the state Cabinet.
“I discussed with the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor) and of course he suggested the relevant department must look at the subject matter.
“That’s why I took the initiative to meet with the secretary (and) I submitted the draft enactment expecting it would be tabled this year.
“I’ve been assured that the department is looking into this subject,” said Yong after launching the SAPP 2022 Congress at the Sabah International Convention Centre here on Saturday (Sept 3).
Yong, a nominated assemblyman, had told the state assembly last March that the state Cabinet must seriously consider enacting a Sabah IC law to protect the interest of Sabahans.
He said such a card could be a measure to prevent foreigners who had obtained dubious citizenship from enjoying state benefits meant for the locals.
The former Sabah chief minister said SAPP had also given a summary on the mechanism how the state could implement the Sabah IC.
“While the enactment would empower the state government to issue the Sabah IC, SAPP proposed that the Sabah Internal Affairs and Research Office overlook the actual issuance of the document.
“But for a start, the Sabah IC issuance should come under the district offices. We can save a lot of money without having to start a Sabah IC department everywhere,” he said.
Yong stressed, however, that the Sabah IC does not in any way touch the Federal Government’s authority over the issuance of Malaysian citizenship.
“A Sabah IC is to be issued to genuine Malaysian citizens in Sabah (by the state government) but we’re not giving the card as a citizenship document for non-Malaysians.
“Therefore, the National Registration Act and the power of the federal government to give citizenships to non-Malaysians are not relevant in this case,” he said.
The Sabah IC issue took centre stage at the SAPP Congress with members urging the party to keep pushing the government for its implementation.
In his policy speech, Yong said the integrity of Malaysian MyKads, with the code 12 for Sabah, has been badly compromised.
He said the evidence contained in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report on Foreigners in Sabah in 2017 was conclusive and disturbing.
“MyKads which were obtained by fraud cannot be allowed to be used in Sabah. Indeed, the federal government has no authority to issue code 12 MyKads, denoting that the holders were Sabah-born, to foreigners.
“To do so is to contravene the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963. Hence, SAPP will pursue the issuance of Sabah IC until it becomes a reality,” he said.
Other top priorities for SAPP, Yong said, was the return of Labuan to Sabah and the report on the infamous plane crash of June 6, 1976, which killed chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens and his senior Cabinet members.
“SAPP is continuing to monitor this matter and shall continue the search for the truth including the publication of the full report on the air crash that we believe remains at the National Archives of Australia,” he said.
