KOTA KINABALU – Approximately half the migrants registered under Sabah’s digital registration pilot programme were found to be undocumented, said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
Kitingan, who is also Sabah’s agriculture and fisheries minister, said half of the 14,855 registered in the pilot programme are with documents. They are mostly migrant workers hired by Sawit Kinabalu. He said the other half, who are mostly dependents of these workers, are without valid documents.
However, it was found that most of their dependents lacked proper documentation, he said.
“From the pilot project in Sawit Kinabalu, we registered 14,855 migrants. Almost all of the migrant workers had valid documents, but most of their dependents do not,” said Kitingan after chairing the Sabah Special Cabinet Committee on Proposed Foreign Worker and Foreign Resident Cards, here today. He said the pilot project report will be presented to the state cabinet on June 14, and the digital registration programme will be officially expanded throughout the state.
The digital registration is done using the biometric facial and fingerprint methods, and the exercise will be implemented in the various state economic sectors namely, plantations, industries, construction, services, and eventually, others like squatter settlements.
Only the sea gipsies or the Palauh communities have been singled out as a separate category, said Kitingan, adding that teams were deployed into the various sectors for the registration process.
“Our target is to finish by December 31,” he said.
He added that this process will not involve the enforcement authorities, but they would eventually be roped in when the state finally calls for action when the registration is completed.
He said the purpose of doing so is to allow the state to build data first to manage the population of migrants later. This includes foreign workers hired by recruitment companies.
The Sabah government decided to carry out the digital data registration exercise to tackle the long-standing migrant problems in the state. – The Vibes, June 2, 2023
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