A religious foundation has backed the call by the Consumer Association of Sabah and Labuan (Cash) that police investigate into the alleged involvement of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the forged IC scam in Sabah.

Yayasan Islam Sabah (YIS) secretary-general Raden Kakung said the police has the duty to "investigate any wrongdoing committed by anybody, regardless whether these acts were formally reported or only mentioned in the media".

He said the authorities cannot afford to ignore the issue due to the seriousness of the allegations which had reflected badly on the good image of Malaysia's political system.

Calling on the police to adopt a "fair and just approach' in its investigations, he said that the complainants who had unravelled the alleged scam must be also investigated especially if the allegations is proven to be baseless.

Raden advised Cash - which had since lodged a police report calling for investigations into the allegations - that it should not take sides considering that it was established to look after consumer affairs.

If not, he added, Cash risked appearing as a "scare-mongering organisation.'

YIS is said to be backed by former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh whose name was mentioned as one of the former state leaders allegedly behind the schemes of issuing ICs to illegal immigrants in the state.

Cash's challenge

On June 15, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) supreme council member Dr Chong Eng Leong dropped a bombshell in Kota Kinabalu of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity on a secret plan called 'Project Mahathir' where 600,000 ICs were issued to illegal immigrant.

He also claimed that these immigrants - mainly from Southern Philippines - have padded Sabah electoral rolls and lamented at length on the lack of integrity in the way the local elections are managed.

Responding to Raden's statement, Cash acting secretary-general Joshua Kong challenged YIS to follow Cash's footsteps in lodging a police report to prove the authenticity of its concern.

"To be fair to all locals in Sabah and the nation in general, YIS must lodge a police report in calling for investigation into the allegations," said Kong.

He also said that YIS is welcomed to lodge a police report against Cash for alleged scare-mongering".

Meanwhile, local Sabah newspapers here quoted the National Maritime Enforcement Agency director-general Vice Admiral Mohammad Nik as saying that it would be tough to tackle the influx of illegal immigrants due to "limited experience, manpower and assets".

He said the agency will do its best to reduce the influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah from neighbouring countries.