‘Time to introduce Sabah IC’

Kota Kinabalu: A former State Assistant Minister says it’s about time the State and Federal Government find ways to introduce a Sabah identity card (IC) meant only for locals.

Kenny Chua, (pic) who is from Perikatan Nasional (PN) component Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), was responding to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin’s comments on Tuesday that there would be no compromise on action taken against undocumented migrants in Sabah.

Chua, who is the former Inanam assemblyman, said the document would be an effective solution to resolve not only the problem of undocumented migrants in the State but also more seriously, the issue of fake documents.

“It’s high time that the Government seriously consider introducing our own Sabah IC to locals,” he said in a statement.

Hamzah said his Ministry and the Sabah Government have decided to take firm action and will no longer compromise in dealing with undocumented migrants in the State.

He added the move would include deporting them from Sabah as what had been done to more than 600,000 Filipino and Indonesian migrants since 1990 and right up to the present time.

Chua had in the past made a similar call for the introduction of the Sabah IC, as did other State leaders, saying it is the best way to put a stop to any future attempts to issue documents to undocumented immigrants, fake or otherwise.

“I believe Sabahans are tired of hearing about all the fake documents.

“And even worse, original documents that have gone into the wrong hands. It’s time we implement a solution and put a stop to all this once and for all,” he said.

He added that Star President Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who is now the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, has been consistently speaking up on the need for a solution to these problems throughout his political career.

“It’s good that he is now in government so that we can finally come up with practical solutions to resolve this issue.”

Meanwhile, Chua also proposed the State Government implement a head count to ascertain the documented and undocumented migrant population in Sabah.

“It will be a huge undertaking but I think we must do it. Unless we have the data, we won’t know who and where they are,” he said.