Citizenship row: Retract claims or risk lawsuit, Warisan tells Shafie’s critics

Summary

• Warisan issues 3 letters of demand against those spreading claims about party president Shafie Apdal supporting citizenship applications from foreigners.

• Party supreme council member Chen Ket Chuin says writ of summons will follow if the individuals do not retract their statements and issue public apologies after 7 days.

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Warisan supreme council member Chen Ket Chuin said the party had submitted letters of demand against those who accused former Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal of supporting citizenship applications from migrants.

He said a writ of summons would follow if related individuals refuse to retract their statements and issue public apologies within seven days.

“The letters were sent on April 7 and 8,” Chen said in a statement today.

Last Saturday, Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association Sabah (KDCA) Youth chief Steve Johnny Mositun reportedly called for an investigation into Shafie (above), after a purported letter from the Warisan president was circulated online.

The letter was in support of an application for a temporary resident identity card (MyKas) dated April 26, 2019.

The letter asked Shafie, who was chief minister from 2018 to 2020, to help expedite the applicant’s receipt of a MyKas.

On the letter was a handwritten note requesting the National Registration Department’s (NRD) attention to the matter.

What’s wrong with helping locals?

Meanwhile, Chen, said the letters, which included minutes or instructions from Shafie, clearly did not refer to undocumented migrants

The lawyer also questioned if there was anything wrong with Shafie aiding stateless locals.

"I urge everyone to stop politicising this issue. Every time an election approaches, false accusations are levied against Warisan in an attempt to tarnish its image," he said, alluding to the upcoming Sabah state election.

Training his guns against the current state administration, Chen urged the government to reveal how many similar support letters had been issued by the current Sabah chief minister.

Earlier today, Shafie said he did not have the heart to reject the pleas of those who had asked for his help.

According to The Borneo Post, Shafie said that letters of support do not sway the NRD, which has the final say on citizenship applications.

“I didn’t know the background of the individuals seeking my support, whether they were Sabahans or non-citizens,” he said, adding that the applicants had come from far to seek his support.

On Monday, the NRD clarified that letters of support from political leaders, government agencies and NGOs can be considered but it does not guarantee the approval of an application.

It also explained that MyKas is merely an identification document for temporary residents who are born in Malaysia but whose citizenship has yet to be determined.

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