Kota Marudu, Fri. – Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) today dismissed as "unbelievable" the clarification by Federal Special Task Force for Sabah and Labuan (STF) that the 17,580 foreign children currently studying in Sabah schools were in fact offsprings of foreigners with legal status.

PBS deputy president Dr Maximus Ongkili said it was unbelievable that there should be such a huge number of foreign students whose parents comprised employees of foreign consulates and multi-national companies, refugees and registered migrant workers.

"The explanation doesn’t make sense. How many foreign consulates and multi-national companies do we have in Sabah? And why are registered foreign workers allowed to stay in Sabah that long until their offsprings are of school-going age?" he asked.

Ongkili said even those classified as refugees are questionable because even after 20 years they were still regarded as refugees.

"It is ridiculous that years after the civil war has ended in the Southern Philippines and a decade after the UNHCR has officially closed its operation in Sabah, there are still these so-called "Filipino refugees" in the state.

"This does not happen in other parts of the world. Refugee status is principally given to foreigners for a fixed period of time pending eventual resolution of their problem. This was the also the case of the Vietnamese refugees in the Peninsula.

"But in Sabah what we have are "permanent refugees" that are regarded as citizens by the authorities," he claimed.

The Bandau member of parliament urged the Sabah Department of Education to disclose the details of the 17,580 foreign students so that the public can verify the statement by the STF.

"The public needs to be informed which schools these foreign students are studying, their number and school locations. We are likely to see that these students are actually in coastal schools such as Pulau Gaya, Bandar Sandakan, Bandar Tawau, and coastal areas of Lahad Datu where there is a high concentration of illegal immigrants."

Ongkili added that illegal immigrants must be deported immediately including their children as they have no right to be on our shores or in our schools.