Side-tracking from the issue of illegal immigrants holding MyKads, two top Sabah officials stressed on the important role that foreign workers play in the state's economy.

The Sabah economy, according to both these officials, "will collapse overnight if foreign workers leave or are forced to leave."

Their critics, who are not in short supply, however point out that no one wants to force foreign workers in Sabah to leave the state if they are still needed.

They do not see the role of foreign workers in the local economy as the crux of the issue posed by illegal immigration and see a need to avoid side-tracking with "half-truths".

joseph pairin kitingan 010706 Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan ( left ) and his younger brother Jeffrey, the just-resigned PKR vice-president, and Sri Tanjung state rep Jimmy Wong are among the chief critics.

State minister of tourism, culture and environment Masidi Manjun, undeterred in his take, blames local workers and employers for the presence of illegal immigrants.

His stand has been endorsed by deputy labour director Enchana Atto in a separate statement but with a caveat.

Atto cited Felda plantations in the state as an example. Here, 93 percent of the jobs are held by foreigners, according to him. He sees extremely low wages in the plantation and other sectors in Sabah as the root cause of the problem.

Felda aside, 90 percent of the jobs in the state's marine industry are also held by foreigners, forcing job-seeking Sabahans in their thousands to flee to Brunei, Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, among other places.

It's an oft-repeated charge that Felda is in Sabah to employ illegal immigrants and upset the delicate balance of numbers in the local population. Locals do not see any benefit to them from the presence of Felda in the state.

Expedite Minimum Wage Act

"The federal government should speed up the Minimum Wage Act to avoid the problem of foreigners flooding in while locals remain unemployed," acknowledged Atto on the sidelines of a Suhakam forum on human resources in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

The Minimum Wage Act is seen as a double-edged sword. Firstly, it would encourage locals to take up employment in sectors which are now dependent on foreign labour. Also, it would discourage illegal immigration as a result of the red tape and expenses involved in getting work permits.

Both Atto and Masidi were following up on a proposal that the federal government set a target of 2012 to "solve the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah once and for all".

The proposal, taken as an ultimatum by many, was made by Pairin, also the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president, during his party's recent convention.

"If the construction illegal immigrants roundup 010305 group and plantation sectors collapse, the entire Sabah economy will collapse," warns Masidi urging caution when moving against illegal immigrants.

"It is not easy to deal with the illegal immigrant problem. Our people are reluctant to take up jobs in these sectors. This is the reality," he said.

Masidi does not think that Pairin's demand should be seen as threatening the federal government.

"It should not be viewed this way. Sabahans are the ones (not the federal government) feeling the problem," he said.

State gov't must initiate plan of action

Implying that threats won't work with the federal government, Masidi suggested that the state government initiate a plan of action to tackle the problem of illegal immigrants flooding the state.

Under the plan, according to him, all enforcement agencies should meet every month or two to review any progress made in implementing the action plan.

"We should not put the blame on the federal government alone. The local people who employ them illegally as maids and workers should also be held responsible," said Masidi.

"The federal government is trying its level best to solve the problem. It is not easy to deal with the illegal immigrant problem," he added.

The state minister could not explain why the state government needs to initiate a plan of action on illegal immigration if the federal government is already hard at work on it.

Masidi also took issue with the Sri Tanjung assemblyperson's stand - his native status has been questioned - that the state government was side-tracking from the real issues created by the presence of illegal immigrants.

"Everybody knows that illegal immigration is the biggest problem facing Sabah," said Masidi in stressing that Wong was not addressing questions raised over the native certificate held by him.

Masidi disagreed with Wong that the state government was wasting public funds by setting up a special committee just to vet his native certificate.

Wong wants the state government to focus instead on how illegal immigrants manage to get Malaysian personal documents. He sees this as a much bigger issue than his native certificate which, he claims, he's entitled to hold.

Pairin acknowledged during his recent address at the PBS convention that foreign workers played an important role in the economy of the state.

He does not see this role diminishing in the years ahead as evident in global trends. Neither does he want all foreign workers to leave the state if they are still needed.

His focus was on illegal immigrants getting their hands on MyKads, becoming instant natives and registering themselves as voters.

He wants this problem to be addressed within a reasonable timeframe and suggested 2012. Many in Sabah see this as a threat to the federal government and point out that the deadline comes ominously in an election year.