KOTA KINABALU: Historian Professor Datuk Ramlah Adam said the issue of the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah should not be politicised.
“We must avoid politicising the issue especially during election time because this is not sincere in resolving the issue,” she said, when giving evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah here yesterday.
Ramlah was one of the three witnesses called to give evidence on the first day of the Commission’s hearing yesterday before it was abruptly halted because of a bomb hoax about 2.40 pm.
Ramlah and Professor Ranjit Singh were asked on the history and demography of Sabah while the third witness was former head of the Settlement Unit under the Chief Minister’s Department, Abd Jaafar Alip.
“We must look at this as a national issue, not a political one. We must be professional in resolving it,” she said.
She said that in her opinion the people from the Southern Philippines came to Sabah because of the ancestral links between the state and the Republic.
To conducting officer Manoj Kurup’s question as to what are these links, Ramlah said these are unwritten ties including religion, family and the maritime boundaries which were passed down from generations to generations in the Southern Philippines.
And because this area was governed by the Sulu Sultanate in the past, some of those in the Southern Philippines feel that Sabah is still a part of the Sulu Sultanate which is why they come to Sabah, she said.
Even though the Sulu Sultanate is not in existence any more, some people in the Southern Philippines still continue to practise the sultanate system which they inherited from their ancestors, she said, adding that her studies showed that it was difficult to place a political boundary in those days as a Sultan’s authority was based on a few factors, including the loyalty of the people.
“From what I read, this is still happening now. From a historical aspect, they may not feel that they are entering Sabah illegally but because there are immigration laws in this country, they become illegal immigrants.
To the question as to what steps can be taken to resolve the problem, Ramlah suggested that because of their historical links to Sabah, these people should be given some political recognition and some programs initiated to get closer to them and to assist them.
“The influx of illegal immigrants into the country and Sabah is worrying because having laws against illegal entry are not deterring them. We repatriate them and they return, besides, repatriating them costs a lot of money,” she stressed.
“So we must look at this as a national problem and not a political one. We must sit down and discuss professionally to find a solution to this problem. There must be affirmative action to resolve the issue in a professional manner,” she stressed.
Ramlah was also of the opinion that some of the islanders in Southern Philippines may not recognize the Philippines government and this could be one of the reasons why they still come to Sabah.
The other reason was that they are fleeing from the political unrest in their homeland so that they can find a better life elsewhere, she said.
“Even as fishermen here, it is a better life for them away from the unrest in their home country,” she said.