When the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance takes over the reins of the Sabah government, it will not recognize illegal immigrants holding MyKads, said a PKR Sabah leader.

illegal immigrants roundup 010305 patiently waiting Daniel John Jambun, formerly PKR Sabah deputy chief, said that illegal immigrants holding the 'MyKads' for nationals and 'MyPR' cards meant for permanent residents would have to leave the state for Peninsular Malaysia.

"There would be no compromise on this. These people have to leave the state because many of them are also on the local electoral rolls,” explained Jambun, who currently heads the party's Kadazan-Dusun-Murut Task Force.

“Their presence on the local electoral rolls disenfranchises Sabahans in their own state.

"If they are holding bogus MyKads, then the NRD (National Registration Department) should help the Election Commission to remove these people from the electoral rolls.”

Allowance will be made only for those not on the electoral rolls, those who agree to transfer their votes to Peninsular Malaysia or those who don’t turn up to vote on polling day, he added.

Otherwise, said Jambun, those without the state government-issued identification documents cannot have anything to do with the state government."

“These people will be subject to the state’s immigration powers once the state government is in our hands," he added.

Jambun said this when commenting on a statement by the NRD that it has only issued MyPR identity cards to foreigners who have been granted Permanent Resident (PR) status after getting the entry permit from the Immigration Department.

The statement, carried in local papers in Sabah, was a reponse to complaints about illegals allegedly overwhelming the state’s health services.

DAP Sabah Health Bureau chair Dr Felix Chong had earlier claimed that illegal immigrants were holding MyKads.

'Dialogue with us'

Jambun also said he wants the NRD officials from Putrajaya to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with PKR Sabah instead of "hiding behind public relations gimmicks” and media statements.

For this to happen, the NRD should sit face-to-face with local leaders and discuss the issue of illegal immigrants to get the ground realities of the issue instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

The NRD cannot sit in Putrajaya and insist that they know better than locals as to who are nationals and who are foreigners, he argued.

“The locals can tell a foreigner just by looking at them, speaking with them or asking them a few questions. They are even willing to admit that they were foreigners but (were) given the MyKad by the NRD.”

captured detained illegal immigrants 030707 Jambun also queried the grounds on which foreigners in Sabah, after being issued entry permits by the state immigration department, are subsequently granted the MyPR cards.

He doubts that such cases have been referred to the state government for approval as required by the federal and state constitutions.

“The federal and state constitutions clearly spell out that no foreigner in Sabah can be issued a MyKad without the express approval of the state government,” said Jambun. 

All such cases, he pointed out, must be treated on a case-by-case basis “and there should be no blanket approval or policy applied in such cases”.

“Even foreign doctors serving in Sabah find it difficult to get Sabah PR after the state government’s approval because the federal government just sits on such cases,” said Jambun.

He cited an incident during Chong Kah Kiat’s time as Chief Minister when he had to personally plead with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, then prime minister, to get federal approval for 300 PR applications.

Most of the 300 applicants were doctors and other professionals, all non-Muslims, whose services were badly needed by the state.   

Non-compliance

Jambun, who is also deputy chair of CigMA (Common Interest Group Malaysia), suggested that the NRD go through a simple checklist before issuing a MyKad to anyone in Sabah.

The checklist should include the status of parents, grandparents, siblings, the location and verification of ancestral villages, and details on schools attended by the applicant in Sabah.

“It’s really very easy to wed out the foreigners from locals but the NRD refuses to comply with its own rules especially on late registration of birth,” alleged Daniel.

“This is evident from the many court cases and evidence presented by many Sabah leaders in black and white in the media, besides (the ones that are) in court.”

Ironically, several thousand Sabahans in the interior are currently stateless, while another 30,000 have been denied Malaysian citizenship, he charged.

“All political parties in Sabah have details of these people and are trying their best to help them through their respective citizenship and security bureaus.”

When contacted, Dr Felix Chong disclosed that Sabah DAP will be holding an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss the issue further and to deliberate on the response from the NRD.

“We will gather all our evidence to present our case,” said Dr Felix, citing the evidence gather by activist Dr Chong Eng Leong.

"Dr Chong will help us make our case. He also has volumes of documents on the issue.”