Urging the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to be upheld should not be deemed as a proposal to secede from the federation, Sabah lawmaker Wilfred Bumburing said.

This comes after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Sabah leaders should not agitate to leave the federation, as the federal government is open to discuss MA63 provisions.

"Whenever we demand for the reinstatement of the MA63, this should not be construed as a kind of secessionism, an idea that alleges those MA63 proponents as being anti-Malaysia," said Bumburing, who is Parti Cinta Sabah president.

"We in Sabah are not seeking to secede from Malaysia as that is not provided for us in the MA63; if we do that then we should be pursuing a Sabah Act to be passed in the British Parliament.

"But we are not pursuing for a Sabah Act in the British Parliament. Not yet. We just want what rightfully belongs to Sabah, as guaranteed under MA63," the Tamparuli assemblyperson said in a statement.

Speaking at the Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Bersatu Party's (Upko) Convention at Pusat Kebudayaan Sabah in Penampang last Saturday, Najib urged Sabah to remain in the federation.

He also told Upko delegates that he wants to defend the rights of the people of Sabah.

'Send illegal immigrants back'

Bumburing said one way to do this is to ensure all illegal immigrants who enter Sabah are not granted Malaysian citizenship.

Those who have been granted citizenship, including during the tenure of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, should be have their papers revoked and sent back to their country of origin, he said.

"The people of Sabah welcome the willingness of Phillippines President Rodrigo Duterte to accept back the illegal immigrants (from the Philippines) in Sabah.

"The government must now spring into immediate action to identify and register them for deportation process.

"If the government admits that illegal identity cards had been given during Mahathir’s time, then those recipients of these ICs are also illegal immigrants and have to be deported to their respective countries," Bumburing said.