KOTA KINABALU: The state government will continue efforts of the previous administration to deport undocumented foreigners in Sabah to their country of origin.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is also state security council chairman, said he had discussed with the Philippine government how to ensure its citizens were managed and sent back.
"We know it is not easy to work with the Philippine government or the Indonesian government. To assist them in deportation requires documentation but that’s our job.
"We have to send (them back) but we face various problems. We have to give priority and one of them is security and ensure they are deported," he told the state assembly sitting here today.
Shafie noted that the government understands the need for workers in the plantation sector but also stressed on the need to deport those who were undocumented.
He was responding to an additional question by Tan Sri Musa Aman (Umno-Sungai Sibuga), who is former Sabah chief minister, on whether any immigrants were deported in the past nine months.
Musa noted that in the past, when former deputy chief minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitangan was the chairman of the technical committee on the management of foreigners in Sabah, the government deported between 5,000 to 10,000 illegal immigrants every month.
Earlier, in replying to the original question by Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (Star-Tambunan) and Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan (Bersatu-Umno) on the state’s current security status following the arrest of 12 foreigners and a local on suspicion of involvement in terrorism, Shafie said it was under control.
He, however, noted that the unrest in the southern Philippines had very much affected the state’s security with an influx of people from the neighbouring country into Sabah.
"Nonetheless, the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) has and will continue to conduct aggressive operations to prevent the entry of militants via Op Coral and Op Lanyak, among others. In addition, exchange of information is continuously carried out apart from the joint operations at the Philippines and Indonesian (maritime) borders."
To an additional question by Nizam on action to be taken by the state government regarding concerns that the Pala’u people were acting as “eyes and ears” for terrorist groups, Shafie said such information, if any, should be forwarded to the government or relevant security bodies.
"This matter needs to be clear. We should not touch on race because there are cases of our people becoming informers (for terrorist groups). If there is information, let us know and we will inform the security forces to investigate," he said.