No attempt to cover up RCI, says panel member

KOTA KINABALU: There were no attempts to cover up the truth by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on immigrants in Sabah, one of its panel members said on Sunday.

Prof Datuk Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon who was among the five-member panel said that the Commission did its best as what was stipulated in its Terms of Reference.

“It is not correct for any one say the Commission worked with the government to cover up the truth,” he said in face of criticism that the 368-page report made public on Dec 3 was a “whitewash” among other things.

When asked about why the report said the government’s was not involved in the influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah, Kamaruzaman said “Do you find it there (in the report)?”

He said based on evidence of five witnesses from the National Registration Department, “our conclusion was that Project IC may have existed.”

“It was a probability. That’s why they must read the report to draw their own conclusions and on what needs to be addressed,” added the former Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) vice chancellor.

He said their report was based on the evidence of 211 witnesses and the report did not carry any executive summary as the commission wanted people to read it in its entirety and draw their own conclusions.

Kamaruzaman said the commission received numerous circumstantial evidence but when they examined it, there was no “smoking gun” or conclusive evidence.