From The Malaysian Insider:) ~~~ On this holy day of R&R&R, fellow Malaysians, please Ruminate of the subject I have now run into its 5th part! My short THINKING ALLOWED hear ~~ WHO IS CREATING TENSIONS, MR CM OF SABAH? My opinion is that the country's security has been COMPROMISED by the powers-that-be the past few decades, and that these leaders and the "illegals" gifted the citizenships are the ones chiefly causing lots of tension for us true-blooded Malaysians born and bred here at least forthe past TWO GENERATIONS since Malaya got its Independence from the British on 31 August 1957. ~~ YL, Desi

Tensions can flare if Sabah RCI sensationalised, Musa Aman tells newshounds

UPDATED @ 01:44:58 PM 20-01-2013

January 20, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Sensational coverage of the ongoing royal inquiry into Sabah’s foreign population explosion could spark unnecessary tension, its chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman reminded journalists as witness testimonies of illegal immigrants being fast-tracked for citizenship is raising the mercury ahead of Election 2013.

Questions are being asked of the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) role over the last two decades in failing to stem the flood of illegal immigrants into Malaysia’s easternmost state, which has seen its population grow from just over 630,000 in 1970 to over 3.1 million in 2010 — more than double the national standard.

“Many sensitive issues have been raised by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants that is currently being held.

“We cannot interfere in the deliberations and the testimonies in the continuing hearing. We also should not rush into any conclusions while the Inquiry is proceeding,” said Musa(picture) in a brief six-paragraph media statement to The Malaysian Insider last night.

The state’s longest-serving chief minister urged reporters to be mindful of their coverage of the RCI, “to avoid bringing about any kind of unnecessary tension among the public”.

“The government has no control over editorial content. We believe in the freedom of the press,” said the 61-year-old, who has been in office since March 2003.

“At the same time, in a sensitive situation such as the RCI, sensational coverage will not bring any positive results or effects for the state of Sabah or the country as a whole,” he added.

Musa had also made a similar request last week at a closed-door meeting with state English-language media representatives from New Sabah Times, Daily Express, The Borneo Post, andBN-controlled newspapers New Straits Times (NST) and The Star, as well as national news agency Bernama.

The issue of illegal immigrants has turned emotive among Sabah natives like the Kadazandusun and Murut communities, many of whom feel that the state has been robbed of its sovereignty through the massive influx of foreigners from neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia.

It is no secret that Sabahans are angry and want these foreigners shipped back to their home countries in one way or another. They also often blame the immigrants for robbing them of job opportunities and for the rise in the state’s social, economic and security problems.

Recent statistics from a 2010 census of Sabah’s population showed an extraordinary 390 per cent increase from 636,431 citizens in 1970 to 3,120,040 citizens in 2010, more than double the national population growth of just 164 per cent.

About 28 per cent of Sabah’s 3.2 million-strong population are foreigners, numbering at 889,000 people.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenships were allegedly given to immigrants for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, has denied the existence of “Project IC”.

Dr Mahathir had last Thursday admitted to granting citizenship to foreigners during his tenure, but insisted it was all done according to the law. He has also said he is willing to testify to that before the RCI if subpoenaed.

The citizenship-for-votes allegation is one of the key issues that has been raised in the run-up to Election 2013, which must be called by April when the ruling Barisan Nasional’s mandate expires.

The public inquiry in Kota Kinabalu that kicked off on January 14 is chaired by former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong.

A total of 167 witnesses are expected to be called to testify, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who finally agreed to set up a royal inquiry last year.

The royal panel has until March to wrap up its investigation.

The hearing will resume on January 28.