SABAH, LAND OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!

By : TAN SRI SIMON SIPAUN

SABAH is fondly known as the ’Land Below The Wind.' Now it can also easily qualify to be called the 'Land Of Illegal Immigrants' who are surely and quickly changing the economic, social, cultural and political landscape of Sabah.

The problems associated with them are often referred to as the mother of all problems in Sabah. If only the authorities were pro-active in addressing the problems right from the start Sabah would not be saddled with the problems today.

Unfortunately it was not to be. I should make it clear at the outset that I never had or will have any intention whatsoever of blaming the illegal immigrants for being in Sabah. As human beings they are just looking for a better life and opportunities.

If I were one of them I would be doing exactly the same thing. They have equal human rights, no more no less, than any I\/Ialaysian. Their human rights must be respected. Human rights have no borders.

However the question often asked by genuine Sabahans is — why were they/are allowed to enter Sabah illegally with impunity? It is alleged and perceived that hundreds of thousands of them have been granted citizenships as well as the right to vote in return for their support to the UMNO dominated ruling BN government. It is therefore not surprising that Sabah is regarded by the present government as its fixed deposit.

Ironically, many local Sabahans lack the necessary documents needed to qualify as citizens. They become stateless although they have never left the place where they were born.

In the early 70s plenty of Vietnamese refugees landed in Peninsula Malaysia. They were confined to Pulau Bidong and within 2 years they were all deported to other countries.

The refugees recognized by the UN as refugees who were Muslims mostly from the Southern Philippines who also started to arrive In Sabah at about the same time are still in Sabah until today. Why the double standard?

Malaysia is neither a state party to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 nor the 1967 Protocol. This being the case, all refugees in Malaysia are treated as illegal immigrants. They are subjected to penalties, detention and deportation under the Immigration Act 1959/63. This Act does not recognize refugees.

To indicate that the Federal Government is seen to be doing something to resolve the problem a Federal Task was established more than a quarter of century ago following a meeting between the Sabah Chief Minister and the Prime Minister. The CM drew the attention of the PM to the seriousness of the problem. It took the Federal Government one year just to create the post of the head of the Task Force.

Today the Task Force is still in existence but so is the problem only bigger and more complicated.

I do not believe that it is possible to know the accurate number of illegal immigrants at any one time since it is always changing and most probably increasing in numbers. I have said in the past and repeat it again that a reverse take-over has long started in Sabah.

There appears to be lack of political will on the part of the government to resolve the problem once and for all. More and more genuine Sabahans are convinced that this is a deliberate move or agenda for Sabah by the Federal Government. 

Books and articles have been written, research undertaken, federal and state leaders identified who had a role to play appear to support such contention. The New Sabah Time in its 9 June, 2001 edition reported that the High Court ordered former CM, Datuk Yong Teck Lee to vacate his Likas state assembly seat because he won it in 1999 with the help of phantom voters.

Justice Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang said that the 1998 Electoral Roll for the constituency was illegal and the election held in March 1999 was null and void. The judge, amongst others, stated that the evidence adduced was tip of an iceberg and fantastic evidence.

This prompted Parliament to amend the Election Act, whereby the electoral roll once gazetted cannot be challenged in any court of law. I feel this is wrong and bad law.

Is it surprising that until today the problems associated with illegal immigrants continue to persist? l believe the answer is no. All the moves, actions and pronouncements have not achieved the desired results, otherwise this issue would surely be only history today like the Vietnamese refugees in the Peninsula.

At one time the government declared an amnesty. However itwas extended several times. This being the case l do not think that the illegal immigrants took it very seriously. There is no indication from the relevant authorities that any assessment was ever made whether or not the desired objectives of the amnesty exercise have been achieved.

At one stage, the government was mentioning about instituting separate courts to handle cases specifically for illegal immigrants. l have not heard any further development on this matter. "Squatter homes to go, says Musa. Pulau Gaya to be rid of illegal" reads a headline on the front page of the Daily Express in its Friday 11 August 2006 edition.

The CM was quoted as saying that the state government will rid Pulau Gaya of illegal immigrants once and for all and all their homes will be demolished soon. You can see for yourselves that until today such noble intention is yet to be translated into action. How to take government pledges seriously?

100,000 signatures had been collected from Sabahans requesting government to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI). This was followed by a long period of silence until two Federal Cabinet Ministers from Sabah were reported to have said that the Federal Cabinet had finally decided on 8 February, 2012 to establish an RCI and it would be formally announced by the PM himself when he visited Sabah.

In the meantime the PM had visited Sabah third time since the two Federal Ministers from Sabah made their respective statements and the DPM once but no announcement was ever made. Again according to newspaper reports when the PM returned to KL he said the RCI was being considered.

It has also now been reported that the terms of reference are being finalized. The question I have is - who is telling the truth? As far as I am aware a cabinet decision is based on a very comprehensive cabinet paper.

For example, the draft cabinet paper is usually referred to the relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Finance for financial implications and the Attorney General Chambers for legal implications.

Once a decision is made on it, it only remains to be implemented. Terms of reference should not arise. To decide on RCI without knowing its terms of reference is like putting the cart before the horse.

The Minister of Home Affairs allegedly made a statement that the government has not issued citizenship to illegal immigrants in Sabah. He wanted proof from people who think otherwise.

YB Datuk Wilfred Bumburing submitted thick documents to indicate evidence. To date nothing has been heard from the Minister. On 1st October, 2011 the Deputy Home Minister Lee Chee Leong was reported to have denied that Sabah is a victim of the so-called 'projek IC' — a planned illegal immigrant population explosion engineered by the federal government for citizenships in exchange for votes to help the present government retain political power.

This is tantamount to denying the undeniable and insulting the intelligence of the people of Sabah to say the least. Now you do not need any study or research. Just go around KK or kg. Boronuon in Telipok. Go to the Filipino market. I have met a number when I was with Suhakam.

As oflune 2005 the district of Kinabatangan had a population of about 85,000 and only about 25,000 were Malaysians. As at 23 December 2005 Sabah’s prison population was 3052 and 70% were foreigners. The Minister of Health was reported in the Daily Express in its 9 July 2006 edition that hospitals in Sabah were receiving the most number of foreigners amounting to about 30%.

According to the Minister, some of them forged identity cards to gain admission and leave without paying. They also account for many contagious and communicable diseases. It was also reported in the Daily Express on 18 November 2007 that 80% of the Likas maternity hospital beds were occupied by illegal immigrants.

More than years ago Kg. Ice Box in Tawau was burnt down. About 5000 people lost their homes and only about 500 were Malaysians. In 2002, 34 foreigners were found to be in possession of mykads. 

 

 

At the time mykad had not yet even been introduced in Sabah. The National Registration Department confirmed that the cards were indeed genuine. There could not be any other authority doing this other than the federal authority. This speaks volume.

ln 1970 the population of Sarawak was about 1 million and Sabah was about 698,000. ln 2004, that is 34 years later, Sarawak population was about 2 million but Sabah was estimated to be between 3.3 to 3.5 million.

Based on Sarawak's population growth rate Sabah should have a population of about 1.4 million. There is a 'surplus' of about 2 million.

There is hardly a day passing without any news involving illegal immigrants. Innocent passer—by could lose a life just like that, like the case of a van driver in lnanam. Understandably Malaysians living in Sabah feel threatened and insecure as the number of foreigners keeps increasing. Incidents of drug related crimes, burglaries and robberies are common.

Gone are the days when we could leave our houses unlocked. Now they are like prisons. Things can only get worse if the demand for jobs is not met by employment opportunities.

Being 25 years older than Malaysia, I remember that the illegal immigrants issue is definitely post Malaysia development. There was no such thing in North Borneo before it became part of Malaysia.

At the same time it cannot be denied that the migrant population have been and are contributing to the development of Sabah by providing human resources especially in the construction, agricultural and plantation sectors, in homes and shops.

However, Malaysia has immigration laws. The government has the responsibility to ensure that they are properly enforced. If the government had done this, there will be no

such problem as we experience it today. The government owes some serious explanation to Malaysians who are living in Sabah. Illegal immigrants should be immediately deported. If their labour is needed they could return with proper travel documents. In the meantime no one should be allowed to enter Sabah illegally.

Those who are currently in Sabah should be distributed equally among the 13 states in Malaysia. This is a national problem. Why should Sabah alone shoulder the burden?

I do not believe that the Philippines and Indonesia are eager to welcome their nationals back since for as long as they are in Sabah the problem will not be theirs. Until now the Philippines has not opened a consulate office in Kota Kinabalu because its claim over Sabah has not been dropped.

Indonesia has more than 250 million people and the Philippines more than 90 million. Both countries can ill afford to have more.

What does the future hold? Nobody can foresee the future. We can only make an educated guess based on experience and past events. I will not be surprised if not many of those who have been granted citizenships have not moved to other parts of the country in search for better opportunities.

Politically the migrant population who are UMNO supporters would sooner or later outnumber the local UMNO members and take over control through sheer force of numbers. I notice the so called new waves of bumiputras are more resourceful and hardworking. For example, I know one person who told me that his son obtained more roofing materials from the government than he needed whilst one poor local obtained nothing.

It is common to see building materials and water tanks being distributed before a general election. Another distant possibility and most likely not in my lifetime is for Sabah to be part of a separate new country together with part of the southern separatist Philippines.