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KOTA KINABALU: Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat (Photo) says he is returning to active politics to fix things, including cleaning up Sabah from the decades-long illegal immigrant problem.
The 72-year-old former prime minister said his main concern was the growing presence of illegal immigrants in the state.
“Respected ethnic groups like Kadazandusun and Murut, who were once the majority residents of Sabah, have now become minorities.
“More recently, our friends from the local Muslim community will also soon be the minority race. This is the reason why Chong Kah Kiat decided to return, ”he said yesterday in a meeting with the media.
Chong was Prime Minister between 2001 and 2003 representing the Chinese community in a unique rotation system proposed by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
He was president of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) that he founded in 1989.
When Tan Sri Musa Aman of Umno assumed command of the state government in 2003, Chong was appointed senior vice minister, as well as head of the tourism, culture and environment portfolio.
It was at this point that the rotation system was scrapped, and from then on, the position was filled by Umno.
In April 2007, Chong resigned as Senior Vice Minister citing matters of principle and has kept a low profile until recently.
Chong is expected to compete for the seat of Inanam, while the party chairman, Datuk Chin Su Pin, will compete for the seat of Api-Api.
Chong added that in addition to “cleaning up” the illegal immigrants, a state government led by the PLD would revamp companies linked to the state government and eliminate the Papar dam project.
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