PBS supports CM on PR issue

KOTA KINABALU, July 19 (New Sabah Times) -- PBS has come out strongly in support of the statement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman on the state government’s objection to permanent resident (PR) status being given to foreigners holding IMM13 documents.

PBS secretary-general Datuk Radin Malleh said the decision by the state government under the leadership of Musa is most welcome.

“The unequivocal statement by the Chief Minister is timely as it has cleared once and for all any doubts about the sincerity of the BN state government in protecting the interests of Sabah and its people, and especially its stand on the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah,” he said in a statement released here yesterday.

Radin said PBS president Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan had earlier conveyed PBS’s stand – that PBS strongly objects to PR status being granted to foreigners in Sabah holding IMM13 documents without the people and state government of Sabah being consulted – to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Radin added that the June 26 statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz – to the effect that it is part of the Federal government’s long-term plan to eventually grant PR status to the IMM13 holders – is totally insensitive to the feelings of the people of Sabah.

Such a move would also contravene the spirit of the 1963 Malaysian Agreement, Radin said, adding it could jeopardise the natives’ special status.

In any case, he said, the Filipino refugees who came to Sabah in the 1970s were fleeing the troubles in the southern Philippines, but since their country is now peaceful, they should be repatriated now.

“The Federal government should stop issuing or renewing the IMM13 documents because there is no longer a justification for them.

“What the government could do is to allow them to work in Sabah to earn a living but they should be subject to the same immigration procedures as other bona fide foreigners in the country,” the statement added.

Radin also took to task Mohd Nazri’s statement that the Malaysians who are genuine citizens are no better than the refugees, saying it is an insult to all local Sabahans.

The locals may have different racial and religious backgrounds but they have lived peacefully all this while and adhered to the tenets of the Rukungara, Radin said.

On Mohd Nazri’s assertion that the crime rate in Sabah is lower than in other states, Radin said: “Is he implying that because of the foreigners in Sabah, the crime rate is down? He should see for himself the problems caused by the foreigners by walking around Sinsuran Complex during the day and at night.”

He said the foreigners are involved in selling pirated goods, pornographic VCDs and smuggled cigarettes, and loiter at shopping complexes harassing the locals.

“PBS is urging the Federal government to speedily resolve the illegal immigrant problem, revoke the genuine ICs issued illegally to foreigners (as in the case of Salman Majid) and stop once and for all the issuance and renewal of the IMM13 documents.

“The government should enhance the effectiveness of all known entry points and strengthen the policing of the Sabah waters stretching from Tawau to Kudat,” the statement added.