IT’S LIKE THIS: Wan Junaidi stressing a point during an interview with the media in conjunction with his Hari Raya open house.
KUCHING: The Ministry of Home Affairs will send their mobile teams to Kampung Air in Batu Sapi, Sandakan to assist
the fire victims in getting their proper documents after their homes were gutted by fire on Friday.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said some 1,000 people from 80 families had lost their homes in the inferno.
“We will be sending our mobile teams to register the people and from there we can distinguish the local people from immigrants who are mostly from the Southern Philippines,” Wan Junaidi told the media at his
Hari Raya open house here yesterday.
He said just like the case of fire victims in Sibu recently, his ministry could provide the necessary documents within two months.
“I have given the instruction to the director of National Registration Department Sabah to carry out the proper documentations as soon as possible,” he said.
Wan Junaidi believed that some 30 per cent of the victims are immigrants and that it would not be a big problem to verify the locals from the immigrants as the elected representatives as well as community leaders could assist his ministry.
However, he said his ministry might face difficulty to provide the necessary documents to some as the area is still under the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the status of illegal immigrants in Sabah.
“But we can sort things out as long as we have capable people especially community leaders who can verify the victims’ status,” he said.
Wan Junaidi who is also Santubong MP said other assistance would be provided by Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) and other government agencies there.
Esscom covers the districts of Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau.