KOTA KINABALU – A total of 124 homeless sea gypsies, who have been stranded due to travel restrictions under the movement control order (MCO), have been rounded up and given shelter by Kota Kinabalu City Hall.
Officials, who visited a coastal water village in Sembulan here early this morning, took the gypsies in the area to a shelter at an undisclosed location to help them avoid further public scrutiny.
Sembulan residents have been raising concerns over the rising number of members of the sea-faring community, some of whom have been wandering around and begging for alms near shops, in their neighbourhood.
Yesterday, photos of the sea gypsies in the city went viral, raising the ire of netizens over the long-standing issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah.
Mayor Noorliza Awang Alip said the city hall has to make the move to avoid the matter escalating into a major public nuisance.
“We have shifted them to a home and are waiting for the (relevant) authorities to take over. What we are doing is based on humanitarian grounds.”
However, she said she is unable to disclose the location of the shelter, adding that the Immigration Department and National Security Council have been notified of the matter.
The Vibes had previously reported that sea gypsies began arriving in droves from Semporna to Kota Kinabalu during the recovery MCO late last year.
Bus drivers have also confirmed that they had been ferrying members of the community during the same period and dropped many in the cities.
When interviewed, some sea gypsies claimed that they were hired by a plastic factory in Tuaran, but then laid off after the plant closed down due to the recent MCO.
“Some were hired full-time, some on daily rates, but the pay could go as low as RM1,” one said, moments before he and others were picked up by city hall officers.
The sea gypsies also revealed a document that states they are from Kg Hampalan Baru in Semporna, some 555km away.
The document, allegedly from their village chief, also states that they do not have any Mykad or passport, and are illiterate. It claimed that they are allowed to find work to support themselves.
Members of the community said they came to Sembulan as they wanted to be close to one of their relatives, who is staying in the water village.
They have been camping out in a nearby open field ever since they arrived in the village several months back.
The sea gypsies, locally called the Palauh, are sea-faring nomads who traditionally live in boats on the sea most of their lives.
Of late, however, many have moved inland and hold regular jobs.
Sabah police chief Datuk Hazani Ghazali said he has briefed the state assembly on the presence of the sea gypsies.
He said action will be taken to avoid their number from growing in the state capital after the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
“We expect to launch a special operation to find if there are any more sea gypsies around the state, as well as solve the problem of illegal immigrants and squatters.” – The Vibes, March 4, 2021
