KOTA KINABALU, Dec 23 — Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau stressed the need to practise good governance if Sabah is serious in its quest to rid the state of the seemingly perennial illegal immigrant issue.
Tangau, who is also United Progressive People of Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) president, said his party felt the pulse of Malaysians in Sabah who wanted to live in peace and feel safe and secure in their own state.
“Malaysians in Sabah want to feel secure, we want to have peace of mind, we want to feel at home in Sabah. We all yearn for all this but to a certain extent, this has been hampered by their (illegal immigrants) presence.
“How can we be at peace if we are becoming aliens in our own land? Such comments are heard on a daily basis… and I fully agree with them. UPKO is committed to assisting in resolving this,” he said in a statement, today.
On the proposed issuance of the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS), Tangau said, while the people at large wanted the illegal immigrant issue resolved, they also wanted the authorities to be transparent about it including by organising public engagements before a decision is made.
“There must be good governance; there should be Cabinet papers both by Putrajaya and the state before any policy is made public. So far, there are no Cabinet papers. We want to become part of the solution. Let’s do it with integrity. Let’s do it with good governance.
“For UPKO, the end game is that everybody in Sabah must have valid personal identification. Foreigners must have a valid international passport if they want to be in Sabah, otherwise they be deported. There is no two ways about it,” he added.
Tangau said the PSS was only one of the proposed solutions to the issue. “We in UPKO stand by our conviction that among the best ways to rid Sabah of illegal immigrants is to recall the ICs and reissue them upon verification by all stakeholders,” he added.
The PSS, which will replace the three documents issued to foreign nationals residing in Sabah, namely IMM13, census certificate and Kad Burung-Burung, will come in the form of a card with biometric security features, including the fingerprints and photo of its holder. — Bernama
