Chong quits PBS over the illegals issue

Chong quits PBS over the illegals issue

Kota Kinabalu: Dr Chong Eng Leong, a strong advocator on the illegal immigrant and Project IC issues in Sabah, has quit Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) with immediate effect.

"My participation in politics is for Sabah, not for PBS. I cannot pursue my fight for Sabah's security and sovereignty within Malaysia via PBS anymore.

"We say "Patriotisme Asas Perpaduan" (unity the base for patriotism) but that is only in words. We must show it by actions," he said.

Dr Chong, who was a PBS Supreme Council member and the party's Luyang division chief, had been critical of the Federal Government and the Prime Minister for not taking action on the calls to address the illegal immigrant problem and illegal issuance of MyKad to foreigners.

"Statement after statement begging our Prime Minister to hear our cry to defend our security and sovereignty in past years fell on deaf ears," he said.

"He (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) does not mean what he says. I want him to leave office but I have been asked to leave PBS by PBS," he said without elaborating.

The Prime Minister specifically brushed aside the formation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants and, instead, announced the formation of a Federal Cabinet Committee, which Dr Chong said, was the same old committee set up in 2000.

"The committee then had held just one meeting in 2006, which was to set up a special court to deal with illegal immigrants but no case has even been heard yet," he said.

Dr Chong also expressed disappointment with the statement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar during his visit here recently asking the people of Sabah not to be overly sensitive and emotional about the issue.

He said the Minister stated that it was unnecessary for a Royal Commission to look into claims that illegals obtained ICs through the backdoor and said "they are Malaysians and we cannot go back to question their rights as citizens".

"It means we cannot question why and how these 'new natives' were given citizenship even if it was against our Constitution and our existing laws," he said, claiming that the number of those who had fraudulently acquired citizenship was more than 600,000 today in Sabah and at least 70,000 were registered as voters.

It is the second time Dr Chong has ditched PBS, the first being in 1990 in protest over PBS' "unbecoming manner of sabotaging the BN" by leaving the coalition five days after Nomination Day.

"However, I decided to return to PBS in 1998 when the party was weak and in the opposition because PBS then was very vocal on the illegal immigrant, Project IC/Mahathir and phantom voter issues."

In his struggle on these issues, Dr Chong had gone against the party leadership directive such as by submitting Memoranda to Suhakam (on Infringement of Rights of Malaysian Citizens in Sabah by the presence of large number of Transient Population) albeit as a concerned citizen.