Common Interest Group Malaysia chairperson Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan has ticked off the home minister for being less than forthright over the status of Filipino ‘refugees’ in Sabah.

He was referring to Hishammuddin Hussein’s recent reply to Kota Kinabalu MP Hiew King Cheu in Parliament, which reportedly cited Article 78 of the National Registration Act 1959.

NONE “He did not really address the issue when the question of some 300,000 ‘refugees’ in Sabah being given MyKad was raised,” said Jeffrey (right) , also a PKR vice-president.

“Locals know these people. They go around flashing their MyKad. This is like rubbing it in our faces.”

Jeffrey said Hishammuddin gave a “non answer” by parroting that only those qualified under the federal constitution are provided with personal identification documents.

As possession of a MyKad denotes citizenship status, Jeffrey said he expects the federal government to keep in mind that not everyone - even if born in Malaysia - is eligible for the document without going through the period of temporary and permanent residence.

The bottom-line is that when a Filipino refugee gets a MyKad, without the need to go through the citizenship process like other foreigners, “he or she automatically also enters the category of instant natives”.

This could speed up the tussle for native land and political power at the expense of locals , Jeffrey pointed out.

sabah illegal immigrant “The question is whether foreigners in Sabah are becoming Malaysians with the consent of the state government,” said Jeffrey.

“If not, the state government has the right under the special provisions for (Sabah and Sarawak) in the Immigration Act to effect the removal of such persons to Peninsular Malaysia.”

He expressed the suspicion that the state government is being kept in the dark about the issuance of MyKad to foreigners.

This could be because Umno is spearheading the state administration, “or it could also be a case of local leaders not speaking up when it comes to state rights for fear of losing out personally”.  

Repatriate ‘refugees’

In any case, refugee status is not recognised by Malaysia, stressed Jeffrey, given that the country has not ratified the 1952 Geneva Convention on Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.

Even the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees describes Filipino refugees in Sabah as “people of concern” in fact sheets, he said.

“We urge the federal government to stop the continued issuance of the IMM 13 document to refugees and their children,” said Jeffrey in suggesting that the document creates a legal twilight zone.

“Instead, efforts should be made to repatriate these people to the southern Philippines from where they came.”

NONE Those sheltering under the IMM 13 category are in fact illegal immigrants given the country’s non-recognition of refugees, he said.

He welcomed the statement by Hishammuddin’s (left) that the processing of citizenship applications will be speeded up.

“However, it must be stressed that Filipino refugees are not qualified for citizenship. Perhaps this is why they are simply being issued with MyKad without going through the normal process for foreigners for which they don’t qualify anyway.”

One official figure has placed the number of Filipino refugees in Sabah at between 57, 500 and 70, 500, with the former figure not having changed since the 1970s.