KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government must be given full autonomy to address the longstanding issue of undocumented migrants and stateless foreigners in Sabah, including their children, in seeking a permanent solution.
Datuk Christina Liew (Api-Api-PKR) said that only through full autonomy for Sabah will the state be able to resolve the problem, which has been left unsettled for 50 years.
“This issue has been a thorn in the flesh for Sabah for several decades since the 1970s. And obviously, the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah that was set up in 2012 had failed to resolve the problem,” she said, adding that it was due to lack of political will to act on the RCI’s numerous recommendations.
“The Special Committee on Undocumented Foreign Workers and Foreign Nationals (headed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan) must be empowered to specifically deal with all stakeholders and act without fear or favour in seeking a permanent solution (including repatriation of Indonesian and Filipino migrants).
“To be inclusive, there must be representation in this Special Committee from the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, the consulate-general of the Republic of Indonesia in Kota Kinabalu, and other bodies related to other foreign nationals,” she said.
Liew said this during the debate on the government policy speech by the head of state at the 16th state assembly sitting today.
The Tawau MP added that the opposition must also sit on the Panel on Undocumented Foreign Workers and Foreign Nationals to provide input and take part in the decision-making process.
“Most importantly, there must be political will on the part of all stakeholders to abide by the decision or to execute the recommendations to be made by the Special Committee,” she told the assembly.
From her observations, she said, Sabah has been pushing for a Philippine consular office to be opened in Kota Kinabalu for many years, but to no avail.
Both the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan governments at the federal level had made efforts to persuade the Philippines to set up a consulate in Sabah.
Given that the proposed consulate office cannot be set up in Sabah due to the Sabah claim, she expressed the hope that Sabah will pursue the setting up of the proposed Philippine Passport Facilitation Centre in the state.
“I understand that talks have been ongoing between the Philippine embassy in Malaysia and Manila over the proposal since 2019.
“It is believed that there are about one million Filipinos in Sabah, many of whom are without passports or have not renewed their passports because it is too costly for them to travel to Kuala Lumpur for the purpose of applying for or renewing the document,” she said.
On another note, Liew said that many Sabahans do not support the government’s proposal to issue a “foreigner’s identity card” to foreigners residing for long in Sabah, including their children.
“Many of these migrant children now roam the streets begging locals or harassing visitors for food or money.
“Some are seen scavenging bin centres in the Kota Kinabalu city or in residential areas in Luyang," she said, adding that it is feared that this “special card” will pave the way for the foreign nationals to acquire Malaysian citizenship status in future. – The Vibes, March 21, 2022
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