KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau has stressed the need to practise good governance if Sabah is serious in its quest to rid the State of the seemingly perennial foreign illegal immigrant issue.
“My party feels the pulse of the people; Malaysians in Sabah want to feel secure, we want to have peace of mind, we want to feel at home in Sabah.
“We all yearn for such qualities but to a certain extent these were hampered due to their (illegal immigrants) presence. How can we be at peace if we are becoming aliens in our own land? Such comment is heard on a daily basis… and I fully agree with them. Upko is committed to assist resolve this,” added the Upko president.
Madius at the roundtable discussion on the Sabah Temporary Pass (STP).
Earlier this year, Home Affairs Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the proposed issuance of Sabah Temporary Pass (STP).
Muhyiddin said it was supposed to replace three documents namely IMM13, Kad Burung-Burung and Kad Banci which would involve more than 600,000 holders beginning June next year.
Madius said while the people at large wanted the illegal issue resolved, they also want the authorities to be transparent about it including by organising public engagement before a decision is made.
“There must be good governance; there should be Cabinet papers both in Putrajaya and at the State before any policy is made public. So far, there is no Cabinet paper.
“We want to become part of the solution. Let’s do it with integrity. Let’s do it with good governance,” said Madius when asked to elaborate on his closing remarks at the roundtable discussion concerning the STP yesterday morning.
“For Upko, the end game is that everybody in Sabah must have valid personal identification. Foreigners must have valid international passports if they want to be in Sabah, otherwise they will be deported. There are no two ways about it,” he added.
He said the STP is only one of the proposed solutions to the issue.
“We in Upko stand by our conviction that among the best ways to rid Sabah of illegal immigrants is to recall the ICs and to re-issue them upon verification by all stakeholders.”
The roundtable was the second deliberation organised by Upko.
The first was an internal program yesterday morning attended by several NGOs and political party representatives.