Stateless children among the worst affected by Covid-19 in Sabah, says rep

Stateless children in Sabah are among the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the incumbent Elopura assemblyperson Calvin Chong Ket Kiun.

He said this, in turn, has aggravated existing social problems in the state.

“The impact (of Covid-19) is there because there are many children whose parents are (undocumented) immigrants who live on a daily wage and the current economic conditions make it difficult for employers to hire them.

“With no salary to buy food, there are many social problems such as break-ins because they want to make a living too. How does one make ends meet without a job?” he said.

Chong (above) said this during an online forum on the challenges faced by stateless people amidst the movement control order.

Also participating in the forum was Sarawak activist Musa Ngog and moderator Farah Osman.

Chong said he hoped the government would continue efforts to record and provide documentation for the children.

This could be similar to the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) scheme, he said, emphasising that the aim was not to give then an identity card.

Instead, he said the effort should be to maintain a proper record of the number of immigrants and find alternative ways to channel welfare to them.

“I want to repeat that we don’t want to give immigrants identity cards but (to monitor) their status and records regarding the overall number of (stateless) immigrants in Sabah,” he said.

On Sept 6 last year, the state government announced that the PSS that would be issued to foreigners who hold the IMM13 or "Kad Burung-Burung" immigration documents or census certificates effective June 1, 2020.

This was in line with the decision made by the Committee on the Management of Foreign Nationals on Sept 6, 2019.

However, on Jan 22, the chief minister at the time, Shafie Apdal, scrapped the PSS scheme following Warisan’s defeat in the Kimanis by-election.

Backlash against the PSS scheme had been a key factor in turning voters against Warisan in the by-election.  - Mkini