Advocate Daniel John Jambun has lodged a police report to facilitate an Inquiry by Magistrate’s Court on Sabah MIC Chief
KOTA KINABALU – Sabah human rights advocate Daniel John Jambun wants the Magistrate’s Court in Kota Kinabalu to examine how Indian-born Sabah MIC Chief Peer Mohamad Kadir — 600323-12-xxxx — holds Malaysian citizenship under the operation of law viz. descent from a citizen.
The Sabah MIC Chief reportedly has been appointed to the Board of Sawit Kinabalu, a state-government-owned GLC (government-linked corporation).
Daniel lodged a police report on Peer Mohamad Kadir in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday 06 Aug 2022. He will be lodging a complaint at the Magistrate’s Court in three weeks. The police report, explained Daniel, will facilitate the Inquiry by the Magistrate’s Court.
The human rights advocate was following up on a statement by Deputy Home Minister Jonathan Yassin in Parliament on Wednesday 03 Aug 2022. Jonathan was replying to Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin on the authenticity of the Malaysian citizenship held by Peer Mohamad Kadir.
Yassin said that his Ministry had so far not received any complaint on the matter.
Code 12
Peer, pointed out Daniel, holds MyKad with Code 12 i.e. indicating that he was born in Sabah. The human rights advocate believes, based on reliable sources, that the Sabah MIC Chief may have registered and obtained a late registration birth certificate in Sabah without the sanction of the court
Daniel doubts that the late registration birth cert was issued after verification by the Mobile Court System in Sabah.
It’s not known whether Peer Mohamad was classified as “Malay” in the MyKad. The Definition of Malay, under Article 160(2), remains confined to Singapore and Malaya and governed by Merdeka as the cutoff line. The descendants of Malay are also Malay.
Malay isn’t race in Article 160(2) but a form of identity. There’s case law on this from the High Court of Malaya. Read Petmal Oil (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v Che Mariah Mohd Tahir (Trading As Delta Mec Enterprise) [1994] 3 CLJ 638.
According to details in the police report, Peer was a Witness at the 2012 Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) headed by Judge Steve Shim Lip Khiong. Peer, who testified on 12 Aug 2012, admitted that he came to Malaysia in the 1980s and now holds Malaysian citizenship.
Jus Sanguinis
Citizenship in Malaysia, under the operation of law, isn’t by jus soli (place of birth) but jus sanguinis (descent from a citizen).
The National Registration Act 1959/1963 states that the onus is on a holder to prove that he or she was eligible to Apply for and entitled to hold a Malaysian personal document.
In law, “given by the government” is no defence.
In law, any “mistake” by the government in issuing a Malaysian personal document isn’t considered a “mistake” at all. – New Malaysia Herald
Longtime Borneo watcher Joe Fernandez has been writing for many years on both sides of the Southeast Asia Sea. He should not be mistaken for a namesake formerly with the Daily Express in Kota Kinabalu. JF keeps a Blog under FernzTheGreat on the nature of human relationships.
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