Musa brushes off query on immigration powers

Sabah is still looking for federal government permission to deal with the illegal immigrant issue despite the state having the power to act on its own.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman is not telling whether Sabah still retains its unique immigration powers as spelt out under the 20-point Malaysia Agreement.

However, he admits that he is “still looking for ways” to implement immigration reforms in the state.

Sabah and Sarawak under their respective 20 and 18-point Malaysia Agreement signed in 1963 had retained their immigration powers that allowed them to prevent entry of anyone they deem as being a threat to state security.

While Sarawak has maintained border controls, Sabah seems to have lost its powers to the federal government.

Yesterday, Musa brushed aside an FMT query on Sabah’s immigration powers, saying “the security committee takes the issue of illegal immigrant seriously but it is still in search for the best solution from the immigration lab under the National Key Economic Area (NKEA)”.

“We have always stated we are doing our best to resolve the illegal immigrants and security issues and this has been our priority.

“We are working closely with the federal government with whom we have formed an immigration lab under the NKEA to find the best solution.”

Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to the Sabah Credit Corporation, Musa refused to be drawn into the growing controversy surrounding the failure by the state government to deal with the continued presence of thousands of illegal immigrants in the state.

In recent weeks Musa, who is the State Security Commission chairman, has been thrust into a confrontation with his own Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition partners over the failure by his government to deal with the problem.

Immigration reform is one of the hot button issues that could damage the BN’s prospects in the coming general election, according to its ally, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

It is already an irritant to state-federal relations.

Yesterday, Musa also said that the state government, through the federal government and Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman, has asked the Philippines to establish a consulate in the state so that the problem could be resolved through discussion.

The severity of the issue came to the fore following a recent fatal shooting of a local bystander during a daring robbery by an alleged illegal immigrant at a township here.

Sabah never surrendered

The incident highlighted the state of security in Sabah, but the government is no closer to tackling the issue than it was more than a decade ago.

The common impression is that the state government is powerless and is looking to the federal government for a solution.

But critics within and outside the government have, however, pointed out that the state government has all the powers it needs to deal with it and need not seek federal government permission or assistance.

United Borneo Front (UBF) chairman Jeffrey Kitingan said last Saturday that it was well within the right of Sabah to exercise its immigration authority since it was never surrendered to the federal government.

Jeffrey said that while he agreed with PBS secretary-general Henrynus Amin’s statement last week that the issue had to be resolved after more than a decade, he did not agree that it was necessary to gain federal government approval to take action.

He cited an example when the state government during the Berjaya administration used its immigration authority to bar then DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang from entering the state.

State BN component parties, PBS and Upko, have been vocal about illegal immigrants gaining easy entry into the state and even obtaining citizenship documents following growing dissatisfaction among their supporters who doubt the sincerity of the state government in wanting to resolve the issue.

The indecision by the state and federal governments might have explosive repercussions in the coming general election, PBS has warned.