Names of convicted foreigners still in rolls, claims PBS
Tuesday, 27 January, 2004 (Source: Daily Express)

KOTA KINABALU: The names of foreigners who have been charged and convicted in court for possession of fake Identity Cards (ICs) are among those still listed in the latest Sabah Electoral Rolls.

There are also clear-cut discrepancies to show that some of those currently listed in the Sabah electoral rolls were well below the age of 21 years when they were registered as voters.

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Supreme Council member Dr Chong Eng Leong, however, said the intention of PBS is not to belittle the Election Commission (EC) or relevant authorities.

“We know they have been doing their job. But what they have overlooked, we as Malaysians have a duty to inform of discrepancies that still exist in the rolls despite assurances by the EC that they are now clean,” he said.

“I was touched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s first words upon assuming the Premiership when he said ‘Work with Me’; ‘Tell me the Truth’; ‘We will be Transparent.

“So this is our opportunity to show we are working with him,” he said.

According to Dr Chong, the number was quite considerable and the EC could look into several instances of evidence presented by PBS, that warrants serious attention.

“In fact, I produced some of these (court) cases in my election petition and which the Election Court Judge accepted as evidence,” he said, referring to the petition he filed against former Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee on grounds the latter won the Likas (N13) seat in 1999 through an electoral roll tainted with non-citizens and phantom voters.

(Ex-CM Datuk Harris Mohd Salleh also filed a petition against Yong’s victory citing ‘corrupt practices’. The two petitions were subsequently consolidated, and Election Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang on June 8, 2001 ruled in their favour, declaring the 1999 Likas election result null and void.)

Citing more examples, he claimed that the non-citizens were back on the latest electoral rolls pertaining to the Gaya parliamentary and Likas State constituencies.

They were listed in different localities, despite having their names expunged from the earlier rolls after their conviction for fake IC possession:

According to him, these include names such as Kadir bin Lebak, IC 680103-12-5412 (locality: 1140 - P1501301), Anuar bin Tarika, IC 580112-12-5953 (locality: 1132 - P1501304), Tasrim bin Halim, IC 650225-12-5045 (locality: 1300 - P1501304), Pirsing bin Siraji, IC 700225-12-5291(locality: 4103 - P1501305) and Zulkifli bin Ali, IC 581205-12-5527 (locality: 1111 - P1501306).

Dr Chong also referred to one Rusman bin Abdullah, an Indonesian who was jailed 22 months on Sept 4, 2001 after the Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of possessing a fake identification receipt JPN1/22 653189.

The Indonesian during the trial admitted entering the State illegally through Tawau and using the fake receipt to vote twice in the 1998 Parliamentary and 1999 State elections at the SK Kambizaan polling centre in Papar.

His conviction was reported in the Daily Express. Ironically, his name appears in the latest roll for P152 Penampang and N17 Petagas.

Similarly, Filipino Hakim bin Malangiok who was turned away by the polling officer when he attempted to vote at the polling centre at SK Kepayan in the 1999 State election and was subsequently charged in the Magistrate’s Court with possession of a false IC, 670807-12-5449, is registered as a voter in the latest roll for P152 Penampang and N16 Moyog.

Of another form of discrepancy, Dr Chong pointed out that certain individuals, if their ICs were to be accepted as authentic, must have registered themselves as voters when they were merely teenagers.

He cited the proof as:

Alimoddin bin Daliu who was registered as a voter on Jan. 1, 1984 for P156 Kinabalu and N25 Kundasang using the (old) IC, H0487466. In the latest roll, his new IC is stated as 690319-12-5157, meaning, he was only 12 when first registered.

Jassi bin Janabi registered as a voter on Jan. 1, 1982 for P164 Semporna and N43 Sulabayan using the (old) IC, H0290921. In the latest roll, his new IC is stated as 670218-12-125491, meaning, he was only 15 when he first registered.

Sittigandal binti Ahmad registered as a voter on March 31, 1990 for P160 (Libaran) and N35 (Sekong) using IC, H0292576. In the latest roll, her new IC is stated as 781211-12-5820, which meant she was only 13 when she first registered as a voter.

Mahmud bin Hussin registered as a voter on Jan. 1, 1981, for P163 Silam and N42 Lahad Datu using IC, H0294248. In the latest roll, his new IC is stated as 670302-12-12-6171, which means he was just 14 when he first registered as a voter.

Darwis bin Lakka registered as a voter on Jan. 1, 1982 for P165 Tawau and N46 Merotai using IC, H0381703. In the latest roll, his IC is stated as 660111-12-5417, which means he was only 16 when first registered as a voter.

The confusion or rather discrepancy did not end there, said Dr Chong, in revealing that more than 250 names of registered voters in the latest Likas electoral rolls alone do not tally with those having the same IC numbers as stated in the previous 1998 rolls.

He cited some examples as:

Saddam b Hussin (‘98) and Arsad bin Salleh (‘02), Jamilah bte Mohammad (‘98) and Jamal bin Mohammad (‘02), Salleh bin Mading (‘98) and Suciati bte Selamat (‘02), Usman b Abdullah (‘98) and Yusuf bin Hussain (‘02), Zanna bte Adil (‘98) and Zalina bte Doil (‘02), Siti Wahid bte Ibnor (‘98) and Bakhti Rahman bin Ali (‘02), Latif bin Azman (‘98) and Nasim bin Amir (‘02), Buyung bin Abdullah (’98) and Ismail Gani bin Sabair (’02), Norasbih bte Nassah (’98) and Omar bin Imam Pawai (’02), Anisah bte Khalid (’98) and Rahman bin Khalid (’02).

“We hope the EC would not be defensive about this revelation of unqualified voters, just like they had in the past.

“We are not telling untruths or lies as alleged by them, as we can prove our claims,” he said.

In the July 21, 2001 Likas by-election following the election court ruling, Dr Chong stood as the PBS (then in the opposition) candidate against BN’s Datuk Yong Teck Lee, but was again defeated by the latter.

He was booed by rival supporters when he tried to explain in his speech aired on national television, following the announcement of the results, that his candidacy was not a question of winning, but to create an urgency on the part of the Federal Government to resolve the fake IC issue.

“This is a national dilemma, which the Federal Government should swiftly act on if they are really serious in protecting our sovereignty,” he had said.

Meanwhile, it was noted that the Special Task Force to clean up Sabah’s electoral rolls from non-qualified voters as proposed in Parliament by PBS on June 26, last year, had yet to materialise.

Bandau MP Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili who represented PBS in making the proposal outlined the functions of the task force among which would include collecting and collating public information on the presence of illegal immigrants in the rolls and ensuring that they were expunged without fear or favour.

The EC expunged some 50,000 dubious voters from the electoral rolls last year.