SABAH’S plan to issue work passes to illegal migrants and allow them to bring their families over have drawn flak among Sabah leaders and social media users. 

The move was announced by Chief Minister Shafie Apdal three days ago, who said this was in response to plantation owners in the state’s east coast who were short of workers.  

Michael Julius from Penampang said on Facebook that even though Sabah had yet to resolve its illegal immigrants issue, the state government was already thinking of giving them work passes. 

“Looks like we will never see the end of our illegal migrants woe,” he said. 

On Tuesday, Shafie had said special passes would be issued to illegal migrants working in plantations and announced that a committee, headed by the state secretary, would look into ways to ensure manpower needs in the sector were being met. 

The Parti Warisan Sabah president also mooted the possibility of going against immigration restrictions by allowing workers to bring their families over so that they are more “comfortable” here.   

However, Sabah Star president Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said this showed Shafie was prioritising the needs of illegal immigrants over Sabahans. 

“Warisan and its leaders appear to have gotten its priorities wrong, and its coalition partners, PKR, DAP and Upko, are equally to blame for sidelining Sabahans and prioritising foreigners and illegal immigrants.

“Any truly patriotic Sabah government and its leaders should first consider the welfare and concerns of genuine Sabahans as well as enforce the law on illegal immigrants, not the other way around,” he said. 

He said Sabah DAP should be the first to oppose this move, as its adviser, Lim Kit Siang, had previously raised the issue of migrant problems being the result of inaction by the previous Barisan Nasional government. 

“This shows their true colours; that they do not genuinely care for Sabahans and were merely fishing for votes. 

“After getting the votes, they are now behaving quite differently and are leaving genuine Sabahans in the lurch,” Kitingan said. 

In the past, illegal migrants had received numerous passes, such as the IMM13 document for Filipino refugees, and eventually becoming Malaysian citizens, said Jeffrey. 

“Even illegals without passes were issued ICs and MyKads under Project IC during the previous tenure of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister,” Kitingan said.

He said some of them even received new identification documents stating they were born in Sabah. 

Yesterday, Sabah Employers Association president Yap Cheen Boon said the move would work against creating a hardy local workforce. 

“Although it is vital for the state government to come up with a comprehensive plan to resolve labour shortage issues in Sabah, it is also the right time for the new government to create a dedicated state human resources ministry to allow more Sabahans to work in industries,” he said.  

Citing Statistic Department data, Yap said there were 783,000 foreigners in Sabah in 2016, but last year, the Immigration Department only registered 137,676. 

Yap said illegal migrants competing against locals for jobs had pushed down the market rate for wages and caused capital outflow when salaries are repatriated. – June 29, 2018.