Has Viagra been distributed freely in Sabah?

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) parliamentarian Eric Majimbun got a rude shock recently when he discovered that he shared the same surname and address in a MyKad allegedly belonging to a Filipino illegal immigrant. [Malaysiakini, 5/10/08]

The population of Sabah have jumped 285 per cent from 1970 to 2000. [NST, 2/10/08]

Sepanggar MP Datuk Eric Majimbun made an astonishing revelation to the Malaysian public when he discovered that an immigrant residing in Sabah shared his surname and address; but they are not related nor do they know each other.

The MyKAD holder's name was Jerome Majimbon, a Filipino immigrant and had apparently acquired Malaysian citizenship. Jerome's residential address, as stated in his MyKAD was Kampung Pomotodon, Jalan Kionsom, Inanam - just like Sepanggar MP Eric Majimbun's.

In Sabah, surnames were considered the same despite having slight spelling variations.

Villagers of Kampung Pomotodon told reporters that they were unaware of anyone bearing the name Jerome Majimbon living in their midst. It was later revealed that the Filipino was an illegal immigrant whose real name was Jerom Maguil.

The Sepanggar MP said he will seek an explanation from the Home Ministry and the National Registration Department (NRD) soon enough. The impostrous MyKAD identity was discovered as a result of Majimbun's truth digging into Sabah's abnormal population hike since the 1970's.

“Just imagine, our population increased by 285 per cent between 1970 and 2000. I will bare all, including proof of people not born in Sabah becoming Malaysian citizens (in Sabah)," he said. [NST, 2/10/08]

The 285% jump in numbers was definitely not due to the failure of any family planning nor the lack of sex education.

Relating to the huge jump in population, Majimbun reasoned that there were many discrepancies in the issuing of MyKADs but the government had done nothing to correct them.

"The problem has been going on for more than 30 years. We should have a computerised monitoring system but, since it is too late, we should start at the beginning. ," Majimbun added. [NST, 2/10/08]

However, the 285% hike in the population could not have been the result of "outdated systems or glitches" in the NRD alone. The latest findings by the Majimbun only intensified what was already haunting Sabah for many years - Project IC.

Project IC was a term given to describe the allegation of deliberate systematic granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants by the Malaysian government -primarily in the state of Sabah. It was said that former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (image) spearheaded the project but no solid evidences have been brought to light so far.

It was alleged that the mass granting of citizenship and naturalisation of immigrants were carried out to sinisterly alter Sabah's demographic landscape in favour of the government. Apart from the social issues caused by the mass influx of illegal immigrants, Project IC have been linked with the existence of "phantom voters" around the country during elections.

Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan claimed that currently there are 1.7 million foreigners in Sabah; 600,000 of whom possess MyKADs and hence, were eligible to vote.

On November 29 2006, former Sandakan District Chief Hassnar Ebrahim told reporters that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, former Deputy Home Minister Tan Sri Megat Junid Ayob and former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Harris Mohd Salleh were involved in the mass granting for citizenships to foreigners. Hassnar also confessed that he had been unknowingly involved in the underground program dubbed by the media, "Project IC" which allowed thousands of illegal immigrants to secure Malaysian citizenship. Many of whom were Indonesians and Filipinos.

It was reported that a middleman would go to every house in a village with MyKAD application forms and collect RM10 for stamp duty. Once the MyKADs were ready, the middleman would return to the village and distribute it to the villagers.

Hassnar Ebrahim was arrested under the ISA in 1998 for two months for apparently "disagreeing" with the country's top echelon regarding Project IC; which he felt was constitutional.

• Harakah Daily's article (in Bahasa Malaysia)
• Bernama's report via Parti Bersatu Sabah's website (in English)

On August 2008, the government embarked on a state-wide crackdown on illegal immigrants in Sabah and 100,000 to 150,000 foreigners were expected to be deported back to their homelands. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government has shown it has the political will to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

However, deporting 100,00 or even 500,000 immigrants back to where they came from does not address the real issue head on. A termite infestation is dealt with not by killing the termites but rather the queen and the colony. Likewise, until the government is willing to dig deep and reveal some ugly truths about Project IC, Sabah's sociological dilemma will indefinitely continue to remain unresolved.