Project IC is a controversial
initiative that involved the granting of citizenship to immigrants (whether
legal or otherwise) in Sabah by giving them the MyKad identity cards. Originally
initiated in late 1990s, the project catered to the evolving electoral patterns
of the Sabah state government.
The idea was to change the demographic pattern of Sabah to make it more favourable to certain political parties, especially with regard to changing the electoral voting patterns. In 2012, former Dewan Rakyat senator and state assemblyman Chong Eng Leong alleged that there were some 700,000 “Project IC citizens” and about 200,000 of them were on the state electoral roll.