MIC Youth said with the release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Sabah illegals, the government must now act against the culprits and delete all illegals from the electoral rolls.

“They must face the full weight of the law, and the action they took must be undone no matter how long it takes.

“The illegal names in the electoral rolls must also be deleted. The attorney general (AG) must act on these violations once and for all,” said Youth chief C Sivarraajh ( left ) in a statement yesterday.

He said the “full extent of the law must be used against the officials who misuse their powers” but noted that required the government's political will.

“There must be political will to take the perpetrators who issued citizenship to illegal immigrants and entered their names in the electoral rolls to court.”

The six-month overdue RCI report released this week raised eyebrows when it found the government and political parties not responsible over the issuance of identity cards and instant citizenships in the Borneo state over the past decades, beginning in former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad's tenure, in what has been dubbed as 'Project IC' and even nicknamed 'Project M' after the ex-premier.

The identification documents were purportedly granted to foreigners in return for votes, a charge which the government has denied, but which testimonies during the RCI held before the last general election, shed light on.

ISA used to cover up?

Meanwhile, Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) slammed the AG Abdul Gani Patail for countering reporters' question if those who had served time under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for being part of citizenship-issuing syndicates would be made to stand trial.

Abdul Gani rebuked reporters on Wednesday for purportedly previously supporting the ISA, and now asking for the Project IC culprits to be charged.

“PRM disagrees and objects to the answer given by the attorney-general while replying the queries of reporters about the charges on those involved,” said PRM vice-president Koh Swe Yong ( right ).

“The attorney-general should not give excuses to refute the claims so that those involved in the RCI report are brought to justice.

“He should also order the respective authorities to investigate other individuals that are involved in the illegal IC production”.

Koh said PRM has previously questioned if the government is using the ISA as a form of cover up as the Act bypasses the need of a trial and alleged perpetrators can be jailed without any details being made public at hearings.

“PRM has questioned the motive behind the use of ISA on crimes, and suspects this Act has been used to cover up an illegal activity from the public eye.

“This illegal activity is planned and used for certain purposes, which was done with the knowledge of higher authorities,” he charged.

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