Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Yahya Hussin has described Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)’s proposal to issue the Sabah identification card (IC) to qualified Malaysians in Sabah once the state-based opposition party formed the state government, as something impractical.

He said the proposal was more of a “bait” or a sweet promise by the opposition to win the hearts and minds of the people in the next general election.

“They (SAPP) know they cannot win... that’s why they made such a promise. We in Malaysia, we have only one identification card (which is issued) under the jurisdiction of the federal government because we are one people.

“We cannot have one IC for Kedah or for that matter one IC for Selangor because we are one - the people of Malaysia,” he told reporters after hosting a media luncheon in Kota Kinabalu today.

Yahya, who is also State Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, was asked to comment on the recently unveiled SAPP’s manifesto for the 13th general election which included the proposal to issue  a Sabah identity card (Sabah IC) for Malaysians of Sabah origin.

sapp and barisan nasional shattered alliance SAPP, which left Barisan Nasional (BN) in September 2008, was quoted as asserting that this was in order to safeguard the identity rights of genuine Malaysians of Sabah origin and to differentiate from the dubious document holders.

SAPP’s manifesto had also promised to the people of Sabah to form a Sabah commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants, should they form the next state government.

However, Prime Minister Menteri Najib Abdul Razak has already announced the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah and had on Aug 11 last year announced the appointment of its chairperson and members.

The hearing of the RCI proceedings has already started. The RCI is headed by former Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim Lip Kiong.

The panellists are Universiti Malaysia Sabah ex-vice chancellor Professor Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, Kuala Lumpur ex-police chief Henry Chin Poy Wu, former Sabah state secretary Kee Mustafa and former Sabah deputy chief minister and former state attorney-general Herman J Luping.

- Bernama