THE issuance of temporary passes to foreign nationals in Sabah is tantamount to allowing them to “multiply”, said Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

PBS information chief Joniston Bangkuai, who is also Kiulu assemblyman, said the issuance of the temporary passes could alter the state’s demographic and lead to foreigners outnumbering locals, putting them at a social disadvantage.

“Sabahans have every reason to be alarmed and concerned with the government’s decision to issue the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS), which can be renewed every three years, to some 600,000 foreign nationals in the state.

“Who are the 600,000 foreign nationals to be issued with the PSS? Are they the so-called war refugees from Southern Philippines who fled to Sabah in the 1970s? If yes, then the 600,000 figure suggests they have multiplied in numbers over the years.

“Imagine what the figure would be in three years following the government’s decision to issue them with a three-year PSS,” he said in a statement today.

Bangkuai’s remarks follows Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s announcement last week to issue temporary passes as a replacement for the IMM13, Surat Burung-burung and the census certificate, to more than 600,000 migrants in Sabah.

Bangkuai added the Philippines’ foreign secretary’s recent declaration that Sabah belongs to the Philippines was disconcerting.

The Philippines’ ambassador to Malaysia had, after paying a courtesy call on the Sabah chief minister some months ago, also said that his country had yet to drop its claim over Sabah.

“With this concern hanging over our heads, it cannot be discounted that the large presence of Filipino illegal immigrants and Southern Philippines war refugees who had remained in Sabah could prompt a ‘reverse takeover’.

“It must also be noted that there had been numerous reports about Filipino immigrants from Sabah entering Peninsular Malaysia using fake documents, and, as such, the illegal immigrants issue in Sabah could become a national problem,” he said.

Bangkuai said the Putrajaya ought deport them in concert with the state government.

He warned that the illegal immigrants were “hell bent” on remaining in Sabah, as evident from their willingness to pay thousands of ringgit to obtain fraudulent Malaysian identification documents.

It was recently reported that several individuals, including a National Registration Department (NRD) official, were arrested in Semporna, the hometown of Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, for allegedly helping illegal immigrants obtain Malaysian identification documents.

Bangkuai said in the interest of local genuine Sabahans, all foreign nationals should be deported instead of being issued the PSS.

He added the government should enforce Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155) governing the deportation of immigrants without proper travel documents, to repatriate the illegal immigrants in Sabah to their country of origin.

“All foreign nationals without any travel documents who genuinely wish to return and earn a living in Sabah should re-enter the state with proper and valid travel documents issued by their country of origin.”

Earlier, PBS deputy president Radin Malleh had urged the federal government to send back all 600,000 illegal immigrants in Sabah instead of issuing them the PSS.

He had Muyhiddin’s response to the issue was a lazy way of dealing with illegal immigrants.

Radin had said the unending migrant problem in Sabah now posed a risk to all Sabahans’ security and economic well-being. – September 9, 2019.