SABAH RCI An opposition political party in Sabah has urged that the ‘old identity card system’ be revived, in order to distinguish individuals living in the state from those in the peninsula and Sarawak.

azlan State Reform Party chairperson Jeffrey Kitingan told the royal commission of inquiry into immigrants in Sabah today that making this distinction would help identify Sabah natives and ensure the preservation of their rights.

He also said this would prevent individuals from claiming to be Sabahans, thereby enjoying related benefits, including the right to vote in the state.

"If the powers-that-be want these (immigrants) to become citizens, they can take these people to the peninsula," he said to mild laughter this morning.

In the old identity card, a special code denoted the state the citizen came from - Sabah was assigned code 'H'.

Jeffrey also claimed that some 600,000 foreigners in the state have been given identity cards and are now living as citizens.

He said this number is based on research and books written by activists, and that he cross-checked the data with the population census and electoral roll.

"I noticed the discrepancies," Jeffrey said.

azlan He said that re-issuing identity cards to Sabahans to resolve problem would make sense, but that foreigners should also be given identity cards that they can carry around.

"We are dealing with human beings, not machines. They should be given cards that they can carry around, cards that show that they are not fully naturalised citizens of Malaysia yet," he explained.

"They should be able to carry out their normal lives here while going through the process of becoming citizens. This way, they won't be voting.”

Jeffrey said it is "not a problem" if Sabah's foreigner population is twice that of citizens, so long as foreigners do not infringe on Sabahans' rights, especially in voting.

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