Friday July 18, 2008
Massive swoop on illegals in Sabah next month
KUALA LUMPUR: A massive crackdown on illegal immigrants in Sabah will start next month, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 illegal immigrants, those without documents or who have overstayed, will be deported. The crackdown would be open ended and continuous.
“This shows that the Government has the political will to resolve the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah. We do not want this problem to recur,” said Najib after chairing a meeting on illegal immigrants with Sabah political leaders, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and others at Parliament yesterday.
Tackling the problem: Najib (right) answering questions on the crackdown of illegal immigrants after chairing the Cabinet Committee meeting on illegal immigrants in Parliament Thursday. With him is Syed Hamid. He also said the Cabinet, at its meeting last Friday, had approved RM50mil for the purchase of equipment and expenses for the operation to be led by the police and state secretary to co-ordinate the move.
The operation would involve multi agencies such immigration, armed forces, Rela and others.
“The Home Ministry has also had bilateral talks with the Philippines and Indonesia on the operation,” he said.
Najib also said the Home Ministry would discuss with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry on how to handle street children and to have a place to house them.
The operation would start from the west part of Sabah as a detention transit camp was ready, and move east, he said.
The last crackdown on illegal immigrants in Sabah was in 2001.
On Raja Petra Kamaruddin being slapped with criminal defamation charges, Najib said: “ I don’t decide.”
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