Merit in royal commission on immigration problems

PENAMPANG, Feb 18 (New Sabah Times) -- Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan asserted that there is merit in the suggestion that the Federal government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the immigration problems in Sabah.

He said by having a commission, it showed the sincerity and transparency on the part of the government in tackling the state’s immigrant problem once and for all.

“Everybody knows Sabah is grappling with illegal immigration for quite some time. Of course the people want to know how this problem came about and how to sort it out from all angles.

“That’s why we in PBS support the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry. In fact, this is nothing new. PBS had been fighting this for a long time,” he told reporters when met at the PBS Chap Goh Mei celebration in conjunction with the Chinese New Year, here yesterday.

Pairin, who is Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, was asked to comment on the statement by Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein on Monday, rejecting a suggestion for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Sabah’s immigrant problem.

Pairin said the call for the seting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry did not mean that the Federal government had not done anything to overcome the problems.

Acknowledging the government’s efforts on this matter, he hoped for more practical and concrete solutions from the laboratory on illegal immigrants under the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) soon.

On the issue of the “extraordinary growth” of the Sabah population by 500 per cent, Pairin said this needed to be investigated.