Project IC: Anwar points at Dr M
Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim tells the Sabah RCI that it is impossible that Dr Mahathir Mohamad is unaware of Project IC.
Luke Rintod, FMT
Former Malaysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) here that throughout his term in the federal government from 1982 to 1998, he had been kept in the dark over two issues — the billions of ringgits flowing out and issues of home security.
“On the billions of ringgits only Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Daim Zainuddin knew, while on issues of Home Affairs, I was only involved on the problem of housing for the police force which I brought up when I learned from security men assigned to my house that some of them lived in squatter huts,” he told the five-member royal commission in a packed High Court room here.
Anwar who is now the opposition leader in Parliament, also revealed that even during the Ops Lallang, where many opposition leaders were arrested, he was not consulted and was kept in the dark until the very end.
“When I asked the prime minister, Mahathir, what was going on, his standard reply was ‘this is security issue, I will deal with the police’,” he said.
Earlier he testified that he did not believe Mahathir would not know of the existence of Project IC, or giving out Malaysian documents to illegal immigrants, in Sabah.
He said it was impossible for Mahathir to claim ignorance about the dubious issuance of Malaysian identity documents to illegal immigrants in Sabah, unless he was irresponsible and incompetent.
Saying he himself was not involved in any security task force, Anwar asserted that Mahathir, as the prime minister at the height of Project IC, had a full knowledge of what was going on in home security as he was also Home Minister at the time.
Dr M was aware
Anwar who wore dark glasses throughout his two-hour session with the RCI, told the hearing that he believed there was corruption and unaccountability on many levels but not necessarily in all civil service, and this provided for a rotting system in Malaysia including in security matters.
When asked by RCI chairman, Steve Shim Lip Kiong, whether he agreed that Malaysia had a weak system on awarding citizenship, Anwar said he partially agreed.
He added that there are laws for citizenship and it had been awarded every now and then but that its issuance to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants would not have been possible without the knowledge of the Home Minister.
“If the issuance of citizenship is for a few hundred people yes, but there is no way we can issue citizenship to the hundreds of thousands without the knowledge of the Home Minister, or approval from the very top leadership,” he said.
Asked by RCI member Herman Luping on what could be done to the foreigners who now have Malaysian documents, Anwar replied Malaysia has to deal with it from a constitutional and humanitarian basis.
“But it will be a major and horrendous exercise,” he pointed out.
Anwar also painted a picture that Sabahan ministers in the Federal Cabinet had not been vocal or convincing enough on the illegal immigrants issues in Sabah, so as to compel the Cabinet to discuss it.
“I think most of the time people were satisfied with the answer given by the Home Ministry,” he said admitting that the problem in Sabah is a national issue and not just a Sabah matter.
