KOTA KINABALU – A Warisan leader has taken PBS and Star leaders to task for not being serious about deporting illegal immigrants from Sabah.
Warisan Keningau deputy chief Basal Bullah said previous calls by PBS and Star leaders to deport illegal immigrants, despite Perikatan Nasional (PN) being in federal power for almost a year, have yet to be manifested into action.
He said there should be no more problems for leaders from both parties to proceed with what they have been clamouring for, in view of their political alignment with Putrajaya.
He pointed out that PBS president Datuk Maximus Ongkili, who serves as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs, is in the best position to impress on his cabinet colleagues the demand for the deportations.
"We also have another Sabahan in the federal cabinet, Deputy Home Minister Jonathan Yasin, who can vouch for Maximus,” Basal said.
"And, on top of that, the political alignment that Muhyiddin demanded as a condition for smoother cooperation between Sabah and Putrajaya has already been achieved and there is no Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) or Mohd Shafie Apdal in the current government to hinder PBS and Star's demand.
"The road to deporting illegal immigrants in Sabah, as what PBS and Star have been demanding, is wide open, but why is there no sign of it after almost a year?
"Where is the passion that they previously displayed when they made the call? Where is the promise?" he said in a statement today.
Basal also said that, as PBS is considered an “expert” on the illegal immigrants issue, with more than 30 years behind them fighting for the cause, the party should need no further reminder from Warisan on the matter.
"Thirty years of studying, researching and talking about the issue should have provided them with vast experience and knowledge to overcome bureaucratic red tape that could hinder the deportation. It would obviously position PBS as 'the ultimate master' on the subject.
"So, it is understandable that Sabahans had high hopes when PBS formed part of the PN government in March last year, thinking that the deportation loudly and widely claimed by PBS and Star leaders could now take place immediately.
"But nothing has happened and the last concrete action taken by PBS on the matter was to submit a recommendation to Muhyiddin last June after Sabahans objected loudly to Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin's plan to issue IMM13 (immigration pass) to these illegals," he said.
"Imagine coming into power by merely using emotive political polemics intending to influence the voters but only to end up exposed as having no real intention to carry out what they said.
"This is a serious issue that casts doubt on the credibility of both PBS and Star. More so when they are dragging their feet to carry out their commitment which they explicitly and repeatedly announced." – The Vibes, January 10, 2021
