Accused of xenophobia on the issue birth certificates to stateless children in Sabah, PKR’s Penampang MP Darell Leiking questions whether Peninsular Malaysia will take over the growing problem in the Borneo state.

Referring to NGO Lawyers for Liberty chief Eric Paulsen’s statement yesterday, Leiking said this is because the healthcare and education of migrants have been on Sabah’s bill for years and the proposal will make it worse.

He said that Sabah’s experience in issuing the IMM13 documentation to refugee children, starting in the 1970s, has been detrimental to the natives.

For example, he said, SK Kinarut in Papar is "over-run" by immigrant pupils, thereby "forcing the local stdents to look for schools elsewhere".

Leiking (left) said that this was because SK Kinarut is walking distance to the Filipino Refugee Resettlement Scheme and the national education policy allows the enrolment of those holding IMM13 papers.

"I wish not for this to happen to Sarawak and West Malaysia, but I am tempted to ask if Paulsen and his team of people are willing to adopt these stateless kids (if granted birth certificates) and move them to West Malaysia, which has enough classrooms and hence to resettle them in West Malaysia.

"Believe me, many Sabahans will agree on this," he said.

Paulsen, who leads the PKR-linked NGO, urged Sabah politicians, including Star Sabah chief Jeffrey Kitingan and SAPP chief Yong Teck Lee, to avoid xenophobia in the matter of issuing birth certicates to stateless children.

He said the proposal by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi does not mean issuing citizenship, but it is to ensure access to basic amenities and education for these children.

Meanwhile, Leiking said that while all children should have access to education, citizenship is a different issue.

"Sabah can no longer afford to be demographically changed into a worse balance than it is now."

Sovereignty at stake

He also assured Paulsen that immigrants in Sabah are "well taken care of", with government hospitals recording 122,882 births by foreigners there.

He noted that the census in 2010 showed that of the 3.12 million people in Sabah, 867,190 are non-citizens.

"While this number itself is alarming, what about those who are uncounted for, to date?" 

Leiking argued that such demography places Sabah’s "sovereignty at stake"

"Paulsen ( right ) should ask the most critical question of all, that is, once the birth certificates have been issued to these stateless children, which country will be then issuing the citizenship when they reach 18 years?

"Will they be deported back their parents’ countries of origin? If yes, then why are their parents’ countries of origin refusing to accept them now?”

He said given Sabah’s experience with immigration into the state, and the government’s tendency to change policies mid-stream, this was a risk the state should not take.

As such Leiking said, a debate on the issue should be called at national level, but a non-negotiable part of the debate is the later issuance of citizenship to stateless children now granted birth certificates.