CONTEMPORARY MALAYSIA

Readers,

Please feel free to voice your opinion and ideas on how we can get rid of those illegal immigrants that have been infesting Sabah since the late 1970s, this issue have to be brought up in Parliament. Do hope that with 82 Pakatan Rakyats MP, we can make a difference this time! We are all Malaysians, be it West Malaysians or East Malaysians, or whatever race we are. Please do contribute! News from Daily Express Sabah.

PBS against granting IMM13 to Kuraman illegals

Kota Kinabalu: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has urged the Federal Government to re-consider its decision to relocate the 366 illegal immigrants and issue them with the IMM13 document at the so-called Immigration Estate in Kiansam, Labuan.

Its President Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, in questioning the move as announced by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, said since these people are illegal immigrants they should be deported.

"Steps must be taken to send them back. The existing laws should be fully used," he said, Monday.

The Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Rural Development Minister was commenting on the move announced after Nazri visited Labuan on Sunday.

Nazri was quoted as saying the IMM13 would be issued to the immigrants since they had been staying there since 1985 and it was the social responsibility of the Government to provide them with education and health facilities so that they could be employed.

However, Pairin said PBS was against the idea of handing them the IMM13 because what should be done is to deport them. According to Pairin, the action was tantamount to giving recognition and favourable attention to illegals rather than the locals.

"The Government should be giving attention to the locals and not the other way round as otherwise this is tantamount to action neglecting citizens.

"Therefore it is incumbent upon the Federal Government to take a stronger stance against the presence of illegal immigrants in the country, especially in Sabah," he said.

Pairin said it was hard for the people to accept the decision since they had been talking about the issue for umpteen years. "They would like to see resolutions rather than giving attention to the immigrants," he said.

Pairin said they should be dealt with like any illegal immigrant and repatriated so that their own government could take care of them and provide all the necessary facilities to help them get on with their lives.

PBS Supreme Council member Dr Chong Eng Leong said the Federal Government should consider taking the illegals in Sabah, who he estimated to number about one million, then "issue them with citizenship and register them as voters so that the BN can retain power in the peninsula."

He said if it was true that the people in Kuraman were illegal immigrants since 1985 then action should have been taken against them.

"Why keep them in Malaysia, costing us taxpayers’ money to shelter and feed them? Why not just repatriate them?" he asked.

"Why provide them with education when thousands of genuine Sabahan children in some rural areas cannot attend school due to lack of accessible schools?

"Why not build hostels in nearby schools for these rural children?," he suggested, pointing out that longhouses in the Kiansam Immigration Estate were built for the illegals. Dr Chong also asked the necessity for the Government to issue the immigrants with the IMM13 document and whether they are refugees.

"Are you going to grant them Permanent Residence (PR) status after having issued the IMM13 document as you had done so in Sabah, which was against the wishes of the State Government?" he asked.