Illegal immigrants: RCI report to be tabled next month, says Najib

The Report on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the illegal immigrant issue in Sabah would be tabled next month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

He said the decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

"I agree with the suggestion that Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan as Sabah Deputy Minister, should head the committee to peruse the contents of the report," he said at the launch of the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) convention in Kota Kinabalu, Saturday.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister and state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman, UPKO acting president Datuk Madius Tangau, and UPKO honorary president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

Recently, some state BN component parties proposed that the special committee on illegal immigrants, which had been formed earlier and chaired by Pairin, be re-activated.

The RCI was set up on Aug 11, 2012. It was chaired by former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Steve Shim.

Its other members were Universiti Malaysia Sabah former vice chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, Kuala Lumpur ex-police chief Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, ex-state secretary Datuk Kee Mustafa and former deputy chief minister Tan Sri Herman J. Luping, who is also an ex-state attorney general.

Najib said the government's decision to table the RCI report showed its earnestness in wanting to resolve the issue.

He believes there is no issue that could not be settled through the principle of friendship in the party.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also said he took seriously the 10 points that had been agreed by the Cabinet concerning religion, and would act fairly towards believers of other faiths in the country.

As an example, he said, the government made the decision to return the religious items seized by Customs at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, to the recipients in Sabah.