Gerakan today urged the government to take concrete steps to address the grievances of Sabahans including the possibility of calling a royal commission on the issue of illegal immigrants in the state.

“This undesirable situation has led to a lot of discontent amongst the Sabah people who have also raised questions about how some illegal migrants managed to get permanent resident (PR) and even citizenship status,” said acting party leader Dr Koh Tsu Koon in a statement today.

“Therefore, in order to answer such queries and to take concrete measures to prevent more illegal migrants from entering Sabah, it may be necessary to set up a royal commission of enquiry as requested by some Barisan Nasional component parties.”

koh tsu koon wawasan university 220906 ponder Koh was referring to the serious allegations that illegal immigrants from neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia have been given identity cards (IC) by the authorities to enable them to vote in elections.

He said the problem of illegal migrants is one of the many long-standing issues which has affected the “livelihood, social fabric, and security of the people of Sabah”.

There has been conflicting accounts from official and unofficial sources on the exact number of illegal immigrants in the state. Most, however, agree that the number is around 750,000.

The total number of foreigners, including illegal immigrants, in Sabah is estimated at 1.75 million.

As a result, foreigners outnumbered locals in the state, which has a total population of 3.3 million. Most of the working foreigners are employed in the construction and agricultural sectors.

Fears of defection

Koh’s statement came in the wake of a growing number of Sabah leaders within the ruling BN coalition who are increasingly critical of the federal government for marginalising the state.

This has sparked fears that some of these leaders could defect to the Pakatan Rakyat opposition.

“From my recent conversation with Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders, it is clear that they are very much concerned about seeking policies and programmes to provide acceptable solutions to such issues affecting the Sabah people, and not so much about seeking high positions for themselves,” said Koh.

The Gerakan leader said that although Sabah is endowed with many natural resources such as petroleum and gas offshore and the rich biodiversity of tropical forest, the state still has the highest rate of poverty at over 20 percent.

“Therefore, it is important that more basic infrastructure projects be implemented in Sabah, especially to improve road transportation and utilities, such as water and electricity supply, in order to generate growth and to provide better quality of life.”