Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today said the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the presence of immigrants in Sabah had failed to mention the role of the national security council and the Prime Minister’s Department in the issue.

"It did not even attribute any blame on them, notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence to that effect.

"While it is well-known that the Umno-BN government will never own up to its failings, we would have expected at least a modicum of contrition, followed by a resolve to make good the errors and misdeeds of the past, he added in a statement.

The PKR de facto leader lamented how Malaysians were once again treated to another "farcical display of chest thumping and proclamations of grandeur, reminiscent of the recently concluded Umno general assembly".

Although it was no surprise that the RCI report had absolved the BN government of any culpability, Anwar said it had taken the art of “white-washing to the pits”.

He pointed out how the report placed the blame only on errant civil service runners for what was clearly the "biggest illegal immigrant scandal in our history since independence".

"The masterminds and the real culprits responsible for the nefarious importation into Sabah of illegal immigrants from southern Philippines and Indonesia are completely off the hook," he added.

The Permatang Pauh MP said although the hearing had held out the promise of some form of justice for the people of Sabah, the RCI instead yielded a 366-page document of predominantly "meaningless verbiage".

"(It had also exonerated) all the government agencies and departments of any culpability, citing monetary gain as the motive," he added.

The RCI on Wednesday had cleared the government and political parties from involvement in the mass issuance of citizenship to migrants in Sabah.

Instead, the report pinpointed to syndicates involving former National Registration Department officials as the culprits who raked in millions of ringgit.

Related stories

Disbelief reigns in Kota Kinabalu over RCI report

Zahid: IC-making cartels no longer exist

'RCI a con for Sabahans to vote BN in GE13'

'Remove illegals from Sabah roll, try culprits'

NGO: 'Project IC' had hand in Sabah's politics

Post-Sabah RCI, the merry-go-round goes on

Our RCI penchant and constipation

Najib should respond in court of public opinion

Evidence that flies in the face of RCI’s conclusion

So RCI's proposal is to set up more committees?