Kota Kinabalu: The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sunday urged former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to take responsibility for what it described as “a grave error in judgment involving his issuance of letters of support for individuals seeking citizenship or temporary resident status in Sabah”.
Its Central Youth Movement leader Loong Kok Seng said the implications of such letters, especially when the applicants are allegedly undocumented or ineligible, is worrying.
“The actions by Shafie as Chief Minister at the time raise serious questions as to whether due diligence and sufficient caution were exercised before endorsing these individuals.
“Given the lack of clarity on their backgrounds — whether they were bona fide Sabahans or otherwise — such support letters should never have been issued,” he said in a statement.
Loong said this issue goes beyond administrative oversight and touches on the core of national security.
“Claiming ignorance of the applicants’ origins is unacceptable. If the National Registration Department (NRD) were to act on such endorsements, the state’s security could be jeopardised,” he said, adding that a Chief Minister’s letter of support carries significant influence.
He criticised Shafie’s justification that he was unable to turn away those who sought his help after long travels.
“While it may portray him as a compassionate leader, it entirely neglects the far-reaching consequences of endorsing individuals without proper verification. As a seasoned political leader, he should have known better,” Loong said.
He also took aim at contradictory public statements from Warisan. While the party’s legal counsel, Chen Ket Chuin, initially asserted that the letters supported stateless Sabahans and not illegal immigrants, Shafie admitted uncertainty regarding the applicants’ status.
“These conflicting statements cast doubt on Warisan’s credibility.
“If Shafie admits to not knowing the applicants’ backgrounds, why is legal action being threatened against those raising legitimate concerns?” Loong questioned, referring to legal letters issued on April 7 and 8 to critics demanding public apologies.
The controversy surfaced after the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) highlighted two documents — one supporting the MyKAS extension of a Semporna resident dated April 26, 2019, and another dated October 9, 2019, supporting the citizenship application of a child from Lahad Datu.
KDCA Youth Chief Steve Johnny Mositun has since called for the NRD and Home Ministry to be open and disclose the total number of citizenship, MyKAS, MyPR, and MyKad applications that were supported by Shafie during Warisan’s tenure from 2018 to 2020.