DAP Sabah Press Statement

Caption: Picture show DAP Sabah Chief YB Jimmy Wong at the Press Conference in Kota Kinabalu together with Secretary Dr Edwin Bosi (right), Assistant Secretary Junz Wong (left), Treasurer Henry Mogindol (standing, right) and Henry Shim.


12th February 2011

DAP Sabah expresses its concern on the reported proclamation of Philippine-born, and ex-ISA detainee and UMNO leader Datu Akjan Datu Ali Mohammad as the Sultan of Sulu on February 4th 2011 in Kg Likas near Kota Kinabalu. The party urges the Police to act swiftly on such an important matter without waiting for a Police report from the public. In several cases before, Police officers have made the report when it is of and for public interest.

DAP Sabah sees this development as a challenge on the UMNO and BN government and will be following the issue very closely. This matter is of grave interest because Datu Akjan is believed to have been a recipient of the Projek IC under Dr. Mahathir. Books such as “Projek IC” by M D Mutalib and “Lest We Forget” by Dr. Chong Eng Leong have painfully revealed the “sinful and teacherous” act by the government to systematically legalise all the illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan the Huguan Siou and PBS President is more précised when he said that this problem of illegal immigrants will be solved by 2012. The modus operandi has been vividly revealed and captured by ex-ISA detainees Hj Jabar Khan Napi and Yakub Damsah in their paper entitled “Kehadiran pendatang asing di Negeri Sabah dan di anugerahkan kad pengenalan Malaysia setaraf Bumiputra” dated 10th June 2007. In this paper the name of Datu Akjan, Datuk Musa Aman and Datuk Yahya Hussein were mentioned.

DAP Sabah cannot rule out that Datu Akjan is challenging the authority of the Sabah and Malaysian government taking into consideration the fact that the Manila claim on Sabah remains intact. The fact that the Malaysian government is still paying the heir to the Sultan of Sulu an amount for RM5300.00 annually as concession is good enough for Datu Akjan to believe that Sabah is still under the Sultan of Sulu.

If the government fails to take action on Datu Akjan then the people of Sabah can perceive that UMNO in particular has no power or deliberately refuse to take action against him. This is based on Datu Akjan’s contribution to UMNO political dominance in Sabah through his recruitment of illegal immigrants, issuing them with Malaysian documents and registering them as voters. These new Bumiputra are the fixed deposit of UMNO while other component parties in BN also enjoy the benefit. Are UMNO and the government condoning what is happening? Are UMNO and the government giving their support to Datu Akjan as the new Sultan of Sulu?

DAP Sabah feels that Datu Akjan who has at least 500,000-strong subjects in Sabah can be a force to reckon with. A show of power has been seen in Lahad Datu when several people were openly burning the Sabah flag and attack the Police station. These people claimed they are the subjects of the Sultan of Sulu. Although they may be in Malaysian jail, to them they are prisoners of conscience as they do not bow down to the Malaysian court of law.

If the Manila claim is placed before the International Court in Hague it is to the advantage of Datu Akjan to have such a big population in Sabah. A referendum if called can lean towards Datu Akjan. The authority must investigate if there are any persons or individuals or groups in Sabah that are working closely but tacitly with Datu Akjan to realise their dream to create a larger Sulu Kingdom.

In view of this development DAP Sabah calls on all the leaders of non-UMNO component parties of BN in Sabah to search their conscience as they are working with UMNO and the new Bumiputra of Sabah to stay and remain in power while the dignity of their supporters and the Natives of Sabah is lost forever.

DAP Sabah urges the leaders in particular, Huguan Siou and PBS President Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan to make the right move by withdrawing from BN and support Pakatan Rakyat in the coming 13th general election. The time and moment has arrived for Pairin to save his people against the gradual invasion of illegal immigrants by distancing himself from Musa Aman and UMNO.

History will judge our leaders but our people will forever be in wilderness if the leaders such as Pairin, Dompok, Kurup and V K Liew do not take and make the right decision for the well being and future of their people and the people of Sabah. Calling for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) by many quarters including BN component parties has fallen on deaf ear. DAP Sabah therefore calls on these leaders to join and support us in Pakatan Rakyat so that we will be able to save Sabah and save Malaysia.