Zahid (left) hands over the instrument of appointment to Musa after jointly chairing the first meeting of the Foreign Nationals Management Master Committee in Sabah. — Bernama photo
KOTA KINABALU: Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi assured that work to eradicate illegals in Sabah will continue to be boosted this year.
Zahid, who is also joint chairman of the Foreign Nationals Management Master Committee in Sabah, said 132 operations against illegals in Sabah were conducted in January.
He said the integrated operations statewide were headed by the National Security Council (MKN) and by the Eastern Sabah Security Command in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone with the motto ‘No Day Without Operation’.
“A total of 560 illegals were remanded after 1,334 people were checked in five integrated operations headed by Sabah MKN early this year,” he told reporters after jointly chairing the first meeting of the committee with Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman here yesterday.
He said the Sabah Immigration Department held 330 operations and deported 18,049 aliens who flouted the laws, including overstaying, involving Filipinos (14,098), Indonesians (3,751) and as well as from other countries.
On the meeting, Zahid said the action plans and directions of the committee and the Management of Foreign Nationals in Sabah Management Technical Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, were also discussed.
Also discussed was on the confirmation of the Late Birth Registration Certificate by the magistrates’ court. It was also proposed that the court convened more often to accelerate issuances of citizenship certificates to natives of Sabah.
Previously, Zahid had announced three term references for the committee: to formulate policies and strategies on the approach on managing foreign nationals in Sabah, monitoring the implementation of policies and programmes by the related agencies on management of foreign nationals in Sabah and submitting suggestions and proposals for consideration by the Cabinet.
The committee has 12 members and will meet every three months, either in Sabah or Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama