special report Patrick Sindu received numerous threatening phone calls the day a signature campaign was launched to urge the government to revoke tens of thousands of 'illegal' identity cards issued to foreigners in Sabah over the past three decades.

"I suspect they (the callers) were supporters of political parties," said the undeterred Sindu, whose Patriotic Citizens Forum on Identity Cards (Pacific) proceeded with the launch on March 15.

"The callers who did not identity themselves asked ' Why do you want to kacau orang punya makan ' (disturb the rice bowls of others)," he added.

Sindu told malaysiakini that some of the callers could be members of syndicates that thrive on arranging and selling identity cards (ICs) to illegal immigrants.

The activist, who heads the Consumer Association of Sabah and Labuan FT (Cash), also claimed that members of a 'rival group' (which he named) was now using religion to warn people not to join the signature campaign.

Sindu said he intended to lodge a police report on the matter.

Even before the launch, Sindu received many calls, including from politicians in government parties, who advised him against the campaign as it would embarrass the Barisan Nasional government.

Who and why?

Pacific's campaign, which will end in August ahead of the National Day celebrations, is to push the government to set-up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe the issuance of ICs to foreigners for political reasons.

Those behind the campaign said the issue was important in the interest of protecting Sabah and Malaysia's sovereignty in the long-run.

They want to know who authorised the issuance of ICs and for what purpose.

They also want the ICs to be revoked as they deprived native Sabahans of their rights and privileges as Bumiputeras because foreigners were given this status.

Pacific comprises several NGOs, individuals and professionals who were concerned with the phenomenal population growth in Sabah due to the influx of foreigners.

However, opposition parties like Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP as well as several other NGOs have disassociated themselves from the campaign.

This lack of co-operation tend to confuse the people as the real issues were often obscured by personality differences and different interests of individuals or groups.

Because Sabah enjoys a rather free press, opposition views often get a fair coverage and the public get to read or hear views from both sides of the political divide, said a senior journalist.

"But at the end of the day, it is the government that decides what to do and what not to do.

"Under the circumstances, you can't blame Chief Minister Musa Aman if he sees the role of most NGOs as more of a nuisance than anything else," he added.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini 's stringer in Sarawak.