Talk to locals over Sabah ICs for foreigners, govt told

 

Home minister Hamzah Zainudin had previously said the proposed identity card for foreigners in Sabah would not grant them citizenship or permanent resident status.

KOTA KINABALU: The government must engage with Sabahans directly over the proposal to give identification documents to foreign nationals instead of just implementing the policy, says a human rights group.

Sabah Human Rights Centre president Sherzali Asli said the “immigrant issue” had been a longstanding and thorny matter for Sabahans, particularly the Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) community.

Sherzali said the reason the Sabah temporary pass (PSS), introduced by then home minister Muhyiddin Yassin during the Pakatan Harapan-Warisan administration, failed was due to the lack of engagement with the public.

The Warisan-led Sabah government later dropped the PSS following the party’s defeat to Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Kimanis by-election in January 2020. Warisan’s loss was largely attributed to the PSS issue.

Sherzali Asli.

BN and other local opposition parties at the time played up the issue in the by-election, claiming it would lead to the granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants and that it was also a threat to the sovereignty of Sabah and the country.

Sherzali said this could happen again to the present government if they ignored the same call.

“A policy that’s incredibly sensitive to Sabahans such as this should be introduced by instalments instead of just shoving it down people’s throats,” he told FMT.

“The government needs to hold dialogues with the local communities and their leaders, use social media to disseminate information and even engage foreign experts if need be, to learn the policies of other countries on the matter.”

The human rights lawyer said the issue was particularly sensitive among the KDM communities as they were still traumatised by Projek IC, which refers to allegations that citizenship was granted to Sabah’s undocumented migrants in the 1990s to alter the state’s demographic pattern.

Last week, home minister Hamzah Zainudin said the proposed identity card would allow foreigners to work here legally and send their children to school, but not grant them citizenship or permanent resident status.

In response, chief minister Hajiji Noor said the document was actually a “kad warga asing” (foreigner’s card) on which the Sabah government had yet to make a decision.

At the moment, Sherzali said, the public was still in the dark about the card.

Adrian Lasimbang.

“That’s why you need to explain all this. I’m sure a lot of people would have comments on how to modify or improve the policy where the mechanism is concerned.

“These dialogues also give the government an opportunity to respond to feedback. But more importantly, you want the public to feel that they’re part of the solution,” he said.

Pertubuhan Suara Anak Sabah president Adrian Lasimbang said the undocumented migrants issue had been “weaponised” by certain political parties in Sabah, making it difficult to address without proper consultation.

“But I agree in principle that the presence of all foreign nationals should be established and documented through a census. This should also include their biometric data. There must be justice for Sabahans but we also need to respect the rights of foreigners, particularly their children as they did not ask to be born here,” he said.

However, the proposed “kad warga asing” should not enable foreigners to work in the state, as they were already required by law to obtain valid travel documents from their home countries before applying for a work permit.

“The idea for the card is for them to be able to travel home without being prosecuted. That is all we can agree on now,” he said. - FMT