RCI members concerned about refugee settlement cleanliness

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KOTA KINABALU: Members of the Royal Commission of Inquiry expressed concerns over the condition of the refugee settlement villages, especially the cleanliness issue there.

Commissioner Tan Sri Herman Luping said: “This particular issue, the pitiful situation that the people are facing, must be addressed.”

RCI chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim, when told that the issue was a policy matter, said there was a need to look into the policy to see if it was right or wrong.

The two members of the Commission said this after being shown photographs of Kampung Sungai Buaya refugee settlement village in Tawau.

They were concerned about the cleanliness of the area as the photos showed rubbish all around the houses which were built on the shore.

Chairman of the settlement village, Sioh Jabidi who was giving evidence to the Commission explained that the rubbish was brought into the area by the tide.

“We do conduct gotong royong with the Federal Special Task Force (FSTF) to clear up the rubbish that is left when the tide goes out,” Sioh said.

Sioh also disclosed that there is no clean water supply to the settlement and that they did not apply for a connection because the villagers do not have identity cards to do so.

Meanwhile, a representative from Sabah Law Association pointed out that life in the settlement was not as hard as pictured because there is a house which has an Astro connection.

“This yellow coloured house in the photograph also has raised a flag. What flag is that?” Sioh was asked and he replied, “SAPP.”

Conducting officer Manoj Kurup explained to the Commission that the settlement was not gazetted by FSTF, which was why it did not receive the basic infrastructure.

Sioh and fellow countryman Rasad Salleh had to escape the conflict in the Southern Philippines to Sabah in the late 1970s.

Both came by sea and told the Commission that their journey into Sabah waters was smooth and the vessel they were on board slipped in without encountering and security forces from both Malaysia and the Philippines.