KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry report on immigrants in Sabah revealed huge financial expenditure in catering for the needs of immigrants in the state.
This included the government incurring RM21,672,03.51 in arrears in the six year period between 2007 and 2012 for healthcare. This amount remains unpaid until today despite attempts to recover these monies.
The RCI report also quoted Sabah Health Department principal Assistant Director (Infectious Disease Control) Dr Maria Sulaiman as saying that infectious disease cases involving immigrants was on the rise resulting to more expenditures, as well as provisions for more funds to accommodate the logistics such as medical officers and others.
Another factor was the lack of basic education for most children of illegal immigrants and refugees.
The RCI report also said local employers in the plantation and construction sector were forced to turn to foreign workers as locals were not keen in these two areas.
These sectors, the report said, depended highly on foreign workers from Indonesia and Philippines.
The report cited companies using the services of foreign workers were such as Sime Darby Plantation, IOI Corp. Bhd., AUMKAR Group, Hap Seng Group and Felda Global Ventures Plantation (M) Sdn. Bhd.
The report stated that the companies affected needed to prepare contingency plans in any case these foreign workers may one day return to their home countries all at once when their economic situation improves.