Pairin wants government to resolve illegal immigration

KOTA KINABALU, May 23 (The Borneo Post) -- The 2012 deadline proposed by Parti Bersatu Sabah for the government to resolve illegal immigration should be made a part of the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of enforcement agencies within the framework of the New Economic Model mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

PBS president Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan yesterday said just like there was a target date for programmes to eradicate poverty, there must also be a reasonable target date for the government to resolve the illegal immigrants problem.

Pairin noted that the Home Ministry had issued a time line to resolve the issuance of late birth registration certificates in rural Sabah and Sarawak by 2011.

“We want the Home Ministry to extend the same commitment and deadline to resolve the illegal immigrants problem,” he said in a statement.

He said PBS would like to see the NKRA and KPI of every enforcement agency and official where their jurisdiction and scope of responsibilities are clearly defined so that they can be held accountable for their action or inaction and success or failures.

‘Those responsible for the border security, coastlines such as the navy, marine police, etc must do their job, and those responsible for enforcement in dry land such as police, immigration, labour, National Registration Department, local authorities, etc must also discharge their duties as expected of them.

“If all these enforcement agencies communicate and work closely, they should be able to tackle the illegal immigrants problem,” he said when meeting a group of civil servants who were participants of the special laboratory and brainstorming on the management of foreigners in the state yesterday at the Infrastructure Development Ministry.

Pairin, who is also a Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Development, praised the good works and sacrifices of these government officers who had to leave home and families for one month attending a special laboratory – marathon meetings, discussions, workshops, field works, etc – to find ways and means to resolve the problem of illegal immigrants.

He said LAB participants should not hold back their minds when contributing their ideas or solutions during the discussions.

He said the illegal immigrants problem must be resolved within a time frame as this was the key demand of the people of Sabah.

He said protecting the security of the state was like protecting the environment.

“If one were to allow destruction of the environment, one would also destroy the ecosystem.

In the same way, if the security of the state is allowed to deteriorate, the future existence of the people is also at risk.” He said PBS was not against foreigners coming to work in Sabah.

“Just like every one of us, these foreigners are looking for money to meet family needs, but as a general rule they must come through the font door, not the back door as illegal immigrants.”

He said foreigners looking for work must respect the customs and cultures of this country if they were to be treated as guests.

“When they enter a house, they must go through the front door, and knocking the door to show respect to the owner of the house.”

Pairin, meanwhile, supported heavy fines for employers who harboured illegal immigrants, especially those who wanted cheap labour and tried to avoid paying levies.

Pairin also supported the use of biometrics identification cards intended for foreigners as a means to eradicate forged identity documents.

He said Sabahans were closely watching the development in Peninsular Malaysia where enforcement agencies or officials were actively rounding up, arresting, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants.

However, the people in Sabah are wondering why federal enforcement agencies and officials do not seem to have the same commitments to do the same in the state.

“We must take stock of the stern reminder by the Prime Minister who said we must change or risked being changed by the people.”

He said huge development was meaningless if the security of the state was neglected, and if voters were to loose their confidence in the government of the day.

He said solutions to the illegal immigrant problems must be comprehensive, involving not only the enforcement agencies, but also the political will and the total commitment of the government and people of Malaysia.