THE federal government will find it difficult to repatriate Filipino migrants who are the bulk of temporary pass or IMM13 holders in Sabah, said Deputy Home Minister Azis Jamman. 

This is because the Philippines government no longer accept them as citizens, the Sabah lawmaker said. 

“There have been suggestions to deport the IMM13 holders back and we want to send them home, too. But the main issue is that now the Philippines will not accept them.

“So what do we have to do? We cannot leave them to die. It has now become Sabah’s problem,” said Azis at a dialogue on legal issues between the judiciary, government agencies and Sabah elected representatives in Kota Kinabalu today.

IMM13 is a temporary pass issued to migrants, starting in 1963. Since then, some 90,000 passes have been issued.

Most holders are Filipinos who fled to Sabah in the 1970s to escape civil war in the southern Philippines. The pass was stopped in 1978 following the use of passports by the Philippines and Indonesian governments. 

Those granted the IMM3 pass, however, could renew them annually. 

Today’s dialogue focused on citizenship, stateless persons and migrants in Sabah.

The Sepanggar MP said he hoped the dialogue would come up with ways to resolve the problem.

“I think we should offer the IMM13 holders some kind of documentation to allow them to stay in Sabah and contribute to the local economy. 

“(But) the document is not citizenship,” he said. 

He said the same matter regarding Rohingya refugees is being discussed in Parliament and proposed issuing the IMM13 to them.

But Azis said Sabah could not afford to accept any Rohingya refugee, as it was still trying to resolve its Filipino migrant problems. – November 16, 2018.