KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has threatened to take legal action against anyone who accused him and his former administration of issuing Malaysian identity cards to illegal immigrants.
This was after a government assistant minister Datuk Abidin Madingkir explained that the issuance of ICs were under the Federal Government.
The situation arose when Abidin, who is assistant minister to the Chief Minister, told the Sabah assembly that the state government could not issue identity cards as it was a federal matter.
Shafie then asked: “The state government never issues ICs? No rights to issue IC, right? I’m asking to be sure. Does the CM have no power to issue an IC? You’re right. I understand this. But during the Sabah election (last year), there were lots of allegations that I had issued MyKads, ” he said.
The Warisan president said this when asking the current Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government what have they done on the matter or did they investigate if the ICs were given.
He said even the temporary pass for Sabah illegal immigrants (PSS) was proposed by then Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who is Bersatu president, in 2019.
“Muhyiddin asked me, he proposed, I cannot issue MyKads; Warisan, never issued PSS. This needs to be on record.
“If I hear anymore of this outside, I will saman (sue),” Shafie said.
The allegations of ICs being given to foreigners had bogged Shafie and Warisan’s campaign in the September 2020 snap state elections.
Warisan lost the state government to GRS, led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, from Sabah Bersatu.