A Sarawak opposition parliamentarian is seeing red over what he describes as an attempt to 'undermine' the state's autonomy over immigration matters.

DAP Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen said out of 200 immigration officers recruited in the state recently, only 18 - or less than 10 percent - were locals.

The remaining 182 officers are either from Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah, he said today.

"In general, government posts in Sarawak, the majority if not all, should be filled by Sarawakians. This is to create more job opportunities for our local people," he added.

Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP deputy chairperson, described the Public Service Commission's move as an attempt to undermine the state's autonomy over this matter.

The fact that only 18 Sarawakians have been employed, he said is "most unacceptable and unfair to us".

"We are not even given a fair share of government posts in our own backyard, what more to say about posts in the other states," he added.

Furthermore, he stressed that immigration "is sensitive to us and only a Sarawakian can understand the sentiment."

State govt must act

The DAP parliamentarian has written to Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud urging him to raise the matter with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In the letter, he told the chief minister that he hoped such encroachments into the state's rights would not be repeated and the state government should not stand by quietly while its autonomy is being undermined.

Chong has also written to state immigration director Robert Lian over this matter.

According to the MP, he met with a senior immigration officer on Wednesday and was told that the department had no control over the recruitment exercise.

Chong also took a swipe at the Chinese-based Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) for remaining silent on this issue, despite claiming to be championing the interests of Sarawakians.

"As the second largest component party in the state Barisan Nasional, they should ensure that such things do not happen," he added.