AT FAULT.... They hire cheap labour and buy goods sold by
illegal immigrants, says district officer.
LAHAD
DATU: THE community leader lit up a cigarette as he spoke of the problems
caused by illegal immigrants in Sabah.
He
blamed the lax security for not being able to tackle the presence of many
illegals, who have had a free reign to smuggle in, among others, contraband
cigarettes.
"Just
like the type I am smoking now," he said of the Astro brand cigarette that
he bought at RM3 on the streets here from immigrant pedlars.
Oblivious
that his purchase had contributed to sustaining the livelihood of illegal
immigrants in the state, he said: "Those 'legal' cigarettes are just too
expensive."
This
community leader is not the only culprit.
The
transient population is feeding off the convenience they provide the locals,
from cheap goods to cheap labour, and that makes almost everyone responsible.
None,
however, wants to take the blame, not even the community leader who said the
enforcement authorities and security forces were not doing their job properly.
The
arrival of the armed terrorists from the southern Philippines last month and
the eventual battle to flush them out at Felda Sahabat had been an eye-opener
of the threats, posed by the illegals.
Society,
however, remained dependent on their supply of cheap products and services; and
for that, they will keep coming.
District
officer Zulkifli Nasir said many locals were in denial that they were a part of
the problem because of the demands they created by buying the goods the
illegals sold cheaply and hiring cheap labour.
He
recounted how he came under fire when he tried to remove about 200 makeshift
stalls at a parking lot at Dataran Palma here.
"From
a few romben- gan stalls selling second-hand clothes, they turned the area into
a full-fledged illegal flea market that eventually became a threat to traders
running legitimate businesses."
When
Zulkifli initiated the move to tear down the stalls, he was criticised by
locals who backed the illegal Indonesian and Filipino traders.
"Despite
this, the illegal structures were torn down. If we had allowed the area to
remain as it was, it is tantamount to giving recognition to their illegal
activities."
For
some time now, Indonesian and Filipino immigrants have been coming to Sabah
because of the hardship they face in their countries.
Zulkifli
said they were willing to do anything, legal or otherwise, to earn their
living. (NST)
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