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Sabah Illegal ICs: The Buck Stops with Mahathir

By Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! News
13th Sept 2013

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad drew considerable laughter last Wednesday when he gave testimony at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah. One hopes the laughter was laced with irony and scepticism.

Irony and scepticism because it seems unlikely, going by reports of the proceedings, that anyone listening to some of the things he said could find them acceptable.

The most unacceptable was his saying that he had not heard about Project IC or Project M (for Mahathir) until only recently, and that the Government could not be held responsible for the issuance of illegal identity cards (ICs) to immigrants who had entered Sabah illegally.

“These illegal immigrants may have been issued the identity cards erroneously or it may have been the wrongdoing of certain low-ranking civil servants,” he said, expressly passing the blame on to others. Continue reading “Sabah Illegal ICs: The Buck Stops with Mahathir”

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Why my father, an ordinary man, took to the streets during the elections

by Sugasini Kandian
Special to the Malaysian Insider
September 13, 2013

My father is a Malaysian citizen. At least, that is what his identity card (IC) says.

But ask him what it means to be a Malaysian citizen – and he will probably say, “I don’t know.”

My father is an ordinary man. He was born in Kuala Lumpur, raised in Pahang, completed his high school education at St John’s Institution, KL, and then left to study accountancy in the United Kingdom.

Growing up in a family where political commentary was the norm at dinner, I used to ask my dad, “Why didn’t you just settle in the UK? Then we wouldn’t have to deal with this messed up system!”

His answer, “I don’t know. Family. Plus Malaysia today isn’t the same as it was back in the 1980s. The economy was booming then and prospects were good.” Continue reading “Why my father, an ordinary man, took to the streets during the elections”