KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan is insisting that the solution by the Home Ministry to issue the "Kad Warga Asing" (foreign nationals card) is unacceptable by Sabahans.
"This is because that term can be misinterpreted. We must be precise with our language.
"This is why, naming the document 'non-citizen resident card' would be more appropriate because it would immediately distinguish these cardholders from the rights of the genuine citizens," he said.
Kitingan said Sabah leaders from both sides of the political divide want to resolve the inland foreigners' issue and had been working closely with enforcement authorities to find a workable and acceptable solution now.
He also said the state government was considering the Sabah IC card, believing that it would go a long way towards ensuring Sabahan rights were protected.
"This card will also help to identify genuine Sabahans from non-Sabahans. It is simple to complete because it is only administrative in nature.
"I agree with Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin that we need political will to resolve our problem, particularly our inland foreigners' problem.
"We are doing our best to resolve this according to our own abilities, and we hope Putrajaya has the political will to support Sabah's aspirations," he said.