Upko Seeks Clarification On Newly Proposed Identity Cards For Long Staying Foreigners In Sabah

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Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau. - NSTP file picKOTA KINABALU: United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) has sought clarification on whether the federal government's proposed identity cards for long-staying foreigners in Sabah are the same idea as Warisan's scrapped Sabah Temporary Pass or PSS.
Its president, Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, said the home minister and Sabah chief minister must explain whether the intention and working of the said identity cards are the same.

"The chief minister a few days ago said that under the measures announced by the home minister last week, the government wants to issue a 'Foreigner Card'.
"Therefore, if the suggestions and proposals came from the same government agencies who had proposed PSS before, it would most likely be the same proposal now, albeit with a different name.
"Upko hopes the government does not play with confusing names so that the intention of these newly proposed cards is not to give illegal immigrants any documents or to give them citizenship because the PSS was never intended to have that effect as well," he said in a statement today.
The home minister, said Madius, needs to understand the impact and negative effects that are feared to be caused by the move.
He was responding to a statement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, who defended the government's proposal to issue identity cards to foreigners in Sabah.
Madius said Upko was disappointed with the latest statement, which showed that Hamzah did not want to accept the views of various parties from Sabah.
He said the minister must explain who these "foreigners" are that he had identified to be issued with identity cards, as there are four categories of foreign immigrants in Sabah.
These, he said, are: illegal Immigrants; refugees; stateless children/persons; and, those who had obtained identification cards through illegal means.
Madius said the proposed PSS was actually to deal with the second category of immigrants, namely refugees.
"The proposal was to introduce the PSS replacing the IMM13, Kad Burung-Burung and the Sijil Bancian. Now Hamzah must come clean and be straight whether this proposed identity card for foreigners in Sabah are for this category of immigrants, the refugees.
"If it is, then it is nothing different from the scrapped PSS. The government and its leaders must then apologise and explain to the people how they have misled the public about the issue of PSS," he said.
However, Madius said, if the identity cards that are to be given to immigrants other than the refugees, such as the stateless persons, then this proposal is far more dangerous and goes beyond the scope of the controversial PSS.
For the fourth category, which are immigrants who had obtained identification cards through illegal means, this is where Upko has been vocal and consistent in demanding the replacement of the current identity cards in Sabah, he said.
"With this exercise, we would be able to weed out those immigrants who had obtained identity cards illegally and become citizens in the process. This is also a very serious problem in Sabah because they have become citizens and have also voted in several general elections already as disclosed in the Sabah RCI."
Madius said once everyone understands these four different categories of problems, only then can real solutions be found.
"This is why we are saying not to play with words when dealing with this latest proposal from the government. Definitely, the government cannot issue identity cards to illegal immigrants because that would be against the law.
"Currently we already have an existing law dealing with illegal immigrants that is the Immigration Act 1961. These illegal immigrants will be arrested, charged in court and jailed for entering and staying in the country illegally without valid documents and then sent back to their country of origin.
"The people must see who are amongst these leaders who only know how to politicise the matter but fall painfully short in finding real solutions.
"Until and unless our leaders understand this, the continuous presence of foreign immigrants in Sabah will continue to be the mother of all problems for another 50 years." - NST

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