KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan took an unexpected stand when he termed the government’s proposal to issue Kad Warga Asing (Foreigner Card) to migrants in Sabah “nonsensical”.
In a statement today, Jeffrey, who is also Sabah Star president, stressed that undocumented migrants should be treated according to the law of the land – to be arrested, charged in court, and deported.
“Why should they be given special treatment when they broke our immigration laws and committed a crime by illegally entering our country?
“If we go to their countries and do the same, we will be charged, jailed, and then deported too – not given a personal document, and allowed to work.
“Likewise, Malaysia has laws, and according to our laws, those who enter our country illegally must be brought to justice and deported.
“Giving them identification documents will not prevent future problems. Nor will it guarantee that these people will not commit the same crime again. It does not solve anything,” he said.
Jeffrey, who is also Sabah agriculture and food industries minister, said all non-citizens in the country must have valid personal documents issued by their respective countries of origin.
The host country – in this case, Malaysia – should not be troubled by or burdened with creating new documents to identify irregular migrants, he opined.
“Those who crossed into our borders without valid documents must be deported. There are no two ways about this,” he said.
Slightly better than Sabah Temporary Pass idea, but still not a solution: Jeffrey
In the meantime, Jeffrey said many native Sabahans, particularly those living in remote locations, lack personal documentation because it is difficult to travel to towns to register their births.
However, he said contrary to undocumented migrants, many of these inland non-nationals could verify their ancestry and thus, should be awarded the proper documents and given citizenship like their parents and relatives.
“But the recent proposal by the federal government is nonsensical. It will not solve anything and will simply exacerbate the situation.
“It may be a little better than the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) proposed by the Warisan government, because the PSS was meant to grant citizenship to the illegals, whilst this document will not. Nevertheless, it won’t fix the problem,” he said.
Yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin announced that the ministry is mulling the approval of the state government’s proposal to issue migrant cards to all non-citizens in the state.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, however, asked the people not to jump the gun on the issue, as the announcement was merely about a proposal and it is not final.
More details needed on Kad Warga Asing scheme, opposition parties say
Opposition members in the state have been demanding further explanation from the state government on the matter.
Sandakan DAP MP Vivian Wong said while she will support any government with a comprehensive strategy and policy to resolve the long-standing irregular migrant issue in Sabah, solving the complex issue simply by issuing foreigner cards within the next three months will inevitably invite suspicions and doubts from all communities in Sabah.
“There are so many questions after the Home Minister’s announcement yesterday. For example, who is eligible to apply for this special card? Which government agency will be responsible for issuing this card? How long must the so-called foreign nationals reside in Sabah before they are eligible to apply for this card? Five years? 10 years? Or 20 years?
“Will these card holders be allowed to work legally in Sabah and Malaysia? Are they subjected to the same labour laws, such as SOCSO or EPF requirements? What will be the status of the children of these card holders? And what if one of their parents is a Malaysian citizen?”
“All these questions must be answered clearly and without any uncertainty by the government before the special card scheme is implemented,” Wong urged in a statement today.
Wong also urged the government to involve all parties, regardless of political affiliation in the Sabah Migrant Management Committee, to tackle the issue.
“The government must also organise dialogues or engagement sessions with the community to explain their strategy and policy on this issue,” she added.
Upko Youth Chief Felix Joseph Saang also questioned why such a proposal to issue foreigner cards was done without involving the people, opposition parties, or any non-government organisations.
“What is the government’s guarantee that the programme is transparent, open and right? Issuing such cards cannot be done arbitrarily.
“Hamzah and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) promised to deport all undocumented migrants from Sabah during the 16th state election in 2020.
“Not only have they not done that, they are now surprising the people of Sabah with Kad Warga Asing, as if we approved the presence of irregular migrants in the state.
“Does GRS, BN and PN want to lie to the people of Sabah?” Joseph questioned. – The Vibes, February 11, 2022
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