State Reform Party (Star Sabah) chief Jeffrey Kitingan said that federal and Sabah governments could be considered “illegitimate”, based on the findings of the RCI report and the court decision in the 1999 Likas election petition.

 

In a strongly worded statement, Kitingan, said the inclusion of foreigners who were illegally issued ICs and MyKads into the Sabah electoral roll is “treason of the highest degree” and renders the present Umno/BN federal and Sabah governments “illegitimate”.

 

“In many countries, the wrong-doers would have been shot, hanged or beheaded, and the families of the shot wrong-doers would have to pay for the bullets, for they are not worth the cost of the bullets. 

 

“In fact, PAS Sabah has called for the perpetrators to be hanged for treason,” said the Bingkor state assemblyperson.

 

He said that in continuing to condone the past mistakes, the present leaders did not care for the future of Malaysia or Sabah, nor did they care for the future generations. 

 

The entry of illegal voters has made elections, at least in Sabah to be a farce, he said.

Kitingan added that to retain power, the Umno/BN government went to the extent of giving away the political franchise and voting rights to foreigners.

 

Such actions have deprived locals of the right to determine their elected representatives and elected government, he lamented.

 

“As a result of these dubious voters and voters-for-hire, we hear of at least two cases of Umno candidates, including a former Chief Minister, winning in the 1994 elections, defeating PBS candidates.  

 

“One wonders how many more of the 23 BN assemblymen won in the 1994 Sabah elections due to these foreigners voters?” Kitingan asked.  

 

He said that although PBS won that election by a 25 to 23 margin, some of the elected representatives jumped ship.

 

'Enough to form a gov't'

The change of allegiance had enabled the BN, which had 23 seats, to form the Sabah government.

 

Kitingan said the High Court decision in respect of the 1999 Likas election petition ruled that any seat won with the aid of illegal or phantom voters was null and void.

 

The Likas case saw former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee ( in yellow shirt ) having to vacate his seat which he won in 1999 after the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled the constituency’s electoral roll as illegal.

 

The judge had said that the inclusion of non-citizens and phantom voters in the electoral roll could be “the tip of the iceberg”, and accordingly, the poll result was declared null and void.

 

Kitingan said: “As such, the Umno/BN Sabah government has no moral or legal authority to form the government if the Umno seats and other BN seats were won with the aid of the illegal voters.”

 

He also pointed out that the government should be declared null and void.