LABUAN – The unregulated entry of visitors into Sabah via Labuan will be resolved soon, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili today, promising to close the immigration loophole.
Speaking after a meeting between the immigration officials from Labuan and Sabah, he said Labuan has been known as a loophole where visitors have gone unchecked due to the absence of immigration checks at the Menumbok (near Beaufort) and Jesselton Point ferry terminals here.
The Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister said the Immigration Department has given the assurance of its readiness to take action once the Special Council on MA63 (SCMA63) headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob decides on the matter.
He added that the Sabah government is expected to raise this at the upcoming SCMA63 meeting next month.
“We have observed that there are immigration loopholes between Labuan and the entry points to Sabah through the Menumbok and Jesselton Point ferry terminals, where there are no immigration officials at these locations.
“The Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division has raised this issue for fear that possible criminal elements are using loopholes to enter and leave Sabah without proper records and documentation,” he said in a statement today.
Ongkili previously said non-Sabahans are abusing the loophole by overstaying or illegally working in the state.
He added that Sabah’s immigration rights were diluted with the federalisation of Labuan during the reign of Berjaya party in 1984.
He said the subsequent relaxation of immigration rules created a free flow of traffic between the peninsula and Sabah via Labuan.
In the case of the Sarawak immigration right, it is one of four MA63 rights declared as non-negotiable and the state has its ultimate power and control.
Among those present were Sabah Immigration Department director Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof, acting Labuan Immigration Department director Norlela Jumat, and the special task officer to Ongkili, Philip Yaditing.
On December 4, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor requested a report from the Immigration Department on the lack of checks on vessels coming from Labuan into Sabah.
Acting on public complaints, Hajiji said there were no immigration checks on visitors who arrived at Sabah via Labuan. – The Vibes, January 14, 2022
