YOURSAY 'There will be claims and counter-claims until it is all so messed up that no further action will be taken.'

Sabah RCI witnesses at odds over testimony

Multi Racial: Firstly, do you expect us to believe our National Registration Department (NRD) processes were so bad that local officers can choose to issue as many ICs (identity cards) as they wish without their superiors being aware of it?

Secondly, it was admitted by former Tamparuli NRD chief Yakup Damsah himself that the operation was conducted at the house of Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, the then political secretary of the premier.

Isn't this suspicious? Why would former PM Mahathir Mohamad's top aide allow such a treasonous exercise to be conducted from his home if he was not a party to it?

Nes: Now we have it. There will be 100 odd witnesses in the RCI who will claim and counter-claim until it is all so messed up that no further action will be taken. It is all a sandiwara (act).

Voiceless: What I want to know is why those who paid to obtain illegal ICs were not arrested and their ICs revoked?

Anonymous_40c3: "It was not explained as to why immigrants would pay RM250 just to be able to vote, but neither the conducting officers nor lawyers holding a watching brief pressed this issue".

I think the conducting officer should be astute in their line of questioning, unless they are not interested to uncover the truth. The RCI panel should not be overly dependent on the conducting officer.

Not Confused: Wow, these foreigners must be really generous and must love Malaysia unconditionally - pay RM250 for a IC receipt so that they can vote and keep the current government in power.

They get no benefits for doing so, not even getting a real IC. They really must be both rich and feel so strongly for a country which treats them as illegal immigrants.

Michael Ng 34f2: I would believe that former Sabah NRD director Ramli Kamarudin was instructed from the very top to do what he did. But maybe he accepted payments on the way, thus killing two birds with one stone.

Veja: If no one gave Ramli instructions and he acted on his own for his personal gain, why was the Mahathir so defensive on this issue?

Boiling Mud: Someone is pulling all the strings of this ongoing puppet show. Identify that individual and his ulterior motive of putting up the show, then perhaps the truth will come tumbling out, albeit partially.

One more question - is this RCI some sort of political manoeuver within a certain political party that is rumoured to be undergoing an intense power struggle?

Former deputy home minister Megat Junid Ayub is conveniently dead. Who is there to admit or deny the responsibility of this treasonous exercise to grant illegal immigrants the vote, thus screwing up the country for personal gain?

Mirror On The Wall: Let me get this right - former NRD director Abdul Rauf did it just for the money? Well, the sheer numbers prove that there must have been connivance with the people right at the top.

Unless they all did it for the money, which is quite believable. The greed of this regime is insatiable.

Changeagent: Abdul Rauf had illegally issued 6,305 blue identity cards and received RM167,300 in 1990. That's just RM26.53 per immigrant - even cheaper than the RM250 they paid during the 1994 state election.

Onyourtoes: Conducting officer Manoj Kurup, why can't you ask Badaruddin Ismail, the special branch officer, why was there such a high demand for identity card receipts, each worth RM250?

Who was paying for it? Unless the illegal immigrants had personally benefitted why would they want to pay Ramli Kamaruddin, the former NRD director, so much money?

These identity card receipts were not even issued in the names of the illegal immigrants, so what use were these receipts other than to vote? That being the case, why would the immigrants want to pay?

Seriously, nincompoops asking questions, nincompoops answering.

Thetruth: The Special Branch telling the truth? Dream on. It exists only to protect the existing government, not the interests of the country.

Giving out ICs in these numbers can only be done with the support from people that are way up there. Ramli, in his position, may be able to issue few but certainly not hundreds or thousands.

Opah: Ramli and his men issued false identity card receipts in order to cheat the election process.

Now why would any illegal immigrant want a false identity card receipt, which would expire after the election? Why would they pay RM250 for this piece of paper?

What the illegal immigrants want, and would be willing to pay for, is a blue identity card. Clearly Badaruddin is talking nonsense.

Bluemountains: I suspect these NRD officers were paid by interested parties to say that they did it for profit. They were put away under ISA (not charged in open court) as the interested parties did not want more information to be divulged.

Even assuming that these NRD officers did in fact committed a crime by selling ICs, what has the government authorities done to nullify those documents? Nothing? Why?

Under such circumstances, the first thing any honest government would do was to nullify those non-bona fide documents.

Ah Boss: If Ramli gave a statement that he acted for financial gain, why has he not been charged for treason? What do you say, attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail?

Anonymous_3e75 : Just do the numbers: RM250 for a receipt to vote and RM500 to cast your vote for the 'right' party. Net gain equals RM250.

Not Convinced: Who do you trust - Special Branch officer Badaruddin who said he was told by former NRD director Ramli that he did it on his own for money, or the man himself telling the RCI that he did it on orders from the higher-ups ?

Elementary, my dear Mr Watson.

Alternatively, it could be a little of both - that Ramli did it on instructions from the late Megat Junid as he had testified and decided to make some money on the side.

Telestai!: This episode has the makings of a detailed and complex plot to subvert the electoral process. The players in this plot each has a specific role, contributing to the overall success of this covert exercise.

If a Malaysian passport could be sold in the black market for RM30,000, how then could a citizenship cost only RM250?

I am certain that was the nominal "fee" collected to defray costs and pay off the runners. The key players get paid by way of promotions, timber concessions and privatisation projects. As such, no one acted on their own accord.

The RCI should compel the witnesses to spill the beans. No stones unturned, please.

Do we have an illegitimate gov't in power?

RCI must probe the masterminds behind Project M

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .