KOTA KINABALU: Many holders of the IMM13 document – who originally came to Sabah as refugees fleeing the civil unrest in the Southern Philippines in the 1970s – prefer to remain in the state, Deputy Home Minister Azis Jamman said.
He said many of the document holders, who are mostly second and third generation descendents, do not have any more family ties in the Philippines and prefer to remain in Sabah, where they have been since birth.
This is one of the reasons why they are rejected by the Philippine embassy and are not able to be repatriated, he said after attending the second Foreigners Management Technical Committee meeting at the Sabah Administrative Complex here today.
“The problem is the Philippines does not want to accept them. When the embassy interviewed them, they said they had no one in the Philippines and they would prefer to stay in Sabah,” he said, adding that he was told this by a former immigration director-general.
A number of Sabah NGOs and political leaders had proposed to the federal government to send the IMM13 holders home as peace has prevailed in the Southern Philippines.
The IMM13 document holders make up part of the 136,055 migrants who will be issued the Temporary Sabah Pass (PSS) by the home ministry next year. The others are holders of the Surat Burung-Burung and Census certificate.
The pass, scheduled to be rolled out on June 1, can be renewed after three years.
Azis said the Foreigners Management Central Committee will hold a town hall session to explain the implementation process and gather input from local leaders after details of the pass plan have been finalised.
A two-day simulation programme will also be carried out here in early December to ensure that the implementation of the pass is carried out smoothly.
Azis said all stakeholders, including political parties, communities, MPs and assemblymen, will be invited to give their feedback on the plan and their views will be discussed by the central committee.
The committee, co-chaired by Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal, will have the final say on all matters concerning the pass, he said. - FMT
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