KOTA KINABALU, Nov 4 — Sabah must wait until borders of the Philippines and Indonesia reopen before it can deport the 5,329 undocumented migrants held in temporary detention centres around the state, said Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
The state government’s Covid-19 spokesman said that there was no alternative but to wait until circumstances change,
“It is not just the recipient countries that have closed their borders. We have also closed our borders, so both are closed off.
“But aside from that, there are no ships or transport to arrange for them to be sent back. So we have to wait until the situation changes, and hopefully both will open their borders and we can deport those in the temporary detention centres back home,” he said.
He was asked to comment on the Sabah National Security Council director’s statement today that the state was having trouble deporting these detainees.
Director Sharifah Sitti Saleh Habib Yussof said that the state was nearing its capacity for 6,750 detainees and was in negotiations with Philippine and Indonesian authorities to accept their citizens who are certified Covid-19 free in order to reduce the number of its detainees.
In the past, similar negotiations have resulted in the deportation of 3,000 Filipinos and more than 1,000 Indonesians, but this was in May before the third wave of Covid-19. The detainees are 86 per cent Filipino and 12 per cent Indonesian.
The Tawau and Kota Kinabalu centres both hold 5,329 detainees and Covid-19 clusters have been detected in both centres. As of yesterday, Kota Kinabalu has 404 positive Covid-19 cases and 106 in Tawau.
They are contained in isolated blocks to prevent further infections.
