RCI report on illegal immigrant problem to be made public December

Najib beating a gong three times to mark the opening of the UPKO Convention in Likas

KOTA KINABALU: A much-anticipated Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Sabah's longstanding illegal immigrant problem will be made public in early December.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Saturday that the Cabinet had decided on the matter at its last meeting.

The Prime Minister said a special panel would go through the recommendations in the RCI report.

"This committee will be headed by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan" said Najib when opening the Upko congress here.

He said he had agreed to setting up of the RCI due to the overwhelming consensus among Sabah Barisan Nasional component parties for it.

He also said that the Government would continue to review and correct any misinterpretation and wrong implementation of its policies.

The Prime Minister said it was however challenging managing a nation with diverse communities.

Referring to the Customs Department's seizure of Christian religious materials at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) bound for Sabah last month, he said the matter had been quickly looked into.

Najib said that this showed the Government's commitment to upholding the 10 point agreement with regard to the importation of Christian religious materials into Sabah and Sarawak.

On the repeated requests by various Sabah groups for the state to be given more for its petroleum royalties, the Prime Minister said this matter had already been addressed.

He said the Federal Government not only was channelling back to Sabah more in terms of development funds than the oil royalties it was collecting from the state but had also allowed Sabah a stake in Petronas' liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Bintulu, Sarawak.

"That stake will translate into about RM1bil of revenue for Sabah

"That is almost equivalent to the 5% in oil royalties," the Prime Minister added.