'Sea gypsies arrested when they come to dry land'

SABAH RCI Sea gypsies rarely see dry land and therefore do not have identity cards, even though born in Malaysian waters, one of them told the royal commission of inquiry on immigrants in Sabah today.

Juak Borneo, 61, said his community is also known by the Malay name "Bajau Pelaut", and that they are born on boats at sea and go to dry land only when necessary.

"There are some who have houses, but there are no bridges. You need a boat to get from house to house. We do not like the land," said Juak who is the chief of Kampung Bagau-Bagau, a village on water.

As a result of their isolation, he said, his people do not get identity cards and therefore do not go to school, even though they consider themselves Malaysians.

"Furthermore, when we do go onto dry land, we are subjected to arrest as we do not have any identification documents to show.

"It is considered a very big deal for our people, who are used to the sea, to be arrested and taken to dry land. It is something to cry about, it's like being killed," Juak said.

Sea gypsies can turn salt water into fresh water

He said the sea gypsies are skilled people who can turn salt water to fresh water, at sea, with just bamboo sticks.

They can also navigate to neighbouring countries on a small boat.

However, he noted that some of these people, who have found work on dry land, have began to live on water villages near, just off shore.

"But there are still those who are living at sea, in poor conditions, and this disparity creates discontent," Juak said.

He noted that after independence, there was an effort by the National Registration Department to register them.

"The NRD officers set out on boats and came to their houses, " he said.

Juak who has a MyKad, said there were 5,752 Bajau Pelaut living in his village in 2011 and slightly less than half of them, or some 2,000 sea gypsies, still do not have identity cards. The rest hold red identity cards.

Another witness to take the stand was Ismail Juhari, of Suluk descent and a third generation Sabahan with great grandchildren.

'Politicians need foreigners to keep power'

Ismail said many people did not register their birth during the old days and therefore he himself did not have a birth certificate.

As such, Ismail said, he had to apply for a "citizenship card" and eventually applied for a blue identity card.

Asked by conducting officer Jamil Aripin (left) for his thoughts on  the more recent immigrants who had easily, but illegally, obtained citizenship, Ismail candidly replied: "For our leaders, it is sometimes difficult because if they do not use these foreigners to vote, later the opposition would win."

Ismail, who is from Tawau, pointed out an example where local politicians intervened when there was a crackdown against Filipino immigrants in 2004.

Acknowledging that 41.6 percent of Tawau's population is made up of foreigners, Ismail suggested that the RCI commissioners wait at bus stops in Tawau "to get a feel" of the situation.

"If these people got their identity cards illegally, they should be recalled and the authorities should take action," he said.

Three witnesses took the stand on the last day of the sixth RCI hearing session at the Kota Kinabalu court complex today.

A total of 171 witnesses have testified since the hearing started in January. The next session, the seventh, will continue on July 15.