KOTA KINABALU: There is a need to implement the long-delayed registration of unregistered foreign workers, undocumented foreigners and those possessing various refugee documents in Sabah, says social activist Dr Chong Eng Leong.
Dr Chong, a well-known Sabah surgeon, recommended that the state and federal governments implement the registration following the 2013 Royal Commission of Inquiry's (RCI) findings into Sabah's migrant problem.
"Sabah leaders must exhibit political will in addressing the matter and urge federal leadership to collaborate genuinely for a resolution," he said at the launch of his book titled "Population Explosion and Demographic Shift in Sabah" at the Sabah State Museum here on Saturday (Jan 27).
The book on issues linked to migrants in Sabah, refugees and stateless foreigners was launched in the presence of former Malaysia Chief Justice Tun Richard Malanjum, retired senior civil servant Datuk Stan Yee and former Sabah State Secretary Tan Simon Sipaun.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Chong said nothing has been done even though more than 10 years have elapsed since the RCI recommended that temporary resident cards be issued to undocumented foreigners in the state.
He said that when the Warisan state government tried to implement the RCI-recommended temporary resident card in 2019, it was strongly opposed by its then-opponents, such as Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Ktingan and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
He said Kitingan - now with the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government - heads the committee to register undocumented foreigners under the renamed temporary resident pass they had opposed.
Kitingan had promised to get them registered within a few months in 2021 after announcing a pilot scheme at major plantations.
"It has been more than two years, we have not seen any progress," said Dr Chong, adding that politicising the issue is not the solution to the problem in Sabah.
He said the migrant problem continues to fester with the population of stateless and undocumented foreigners growing in Sabah.
He proposes tackling corruption among enforcement outfits and setting up a Philippines consulate in Sabah, Malaysian consulates in Nunukan in Indonesia and Zamboanga City in the Philippines as possible solutions.
Dr Chong also suggested establishing a Special State Secretariat overseeing immigrant management and added that those who were issued Malaysian identity cards illegally in the 1990s be issued permanent resident status.
He then said that their children be accepted as Malaysians.
He added, "It is unfair to their children or grandchildren, who grew up as Sabahans and Malaysians. "
This is Dr Chong's second book on Sabah's abnormal population growth and issues with phantom voters.
The 80-year-old doctor had a passionate interest in the migrant problem when he was involved in politics in the 1990s, as he saw first-hand the use of illegal immigrants as "phantom" voters for politics.
