RANAU: The current methods of “Arrest, Detain, Deport” (ADD) approach of illegal immigrants on the eve of elections is a mere political gimmick that are ineffective and lacks real substance or long-term value.
The President of Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri (Anak Negeri), Datuk Henrynus Amin, criticised the methods as primarily designed to gain public attention, support or a temporary electoral advantage rather than genuinely addressing the crisis.
“The party is calling for a fundamental and urgent shift away from the current, ineffective ADD approach,” he said, calling the stunt as mere political showmanship.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“With an estimated one million foreigners in Sabah, approximately 80 per cent of whom are believed to be illegal immigrants, the idea that Sabah can arrest them all, jail them, and deport them is simply ludicrous.”
He highlighted recent report about severe overcrowding at Sandakan detention centres and alleged that most arrested individuals are released shortly after their biometrics were taken, underscoring the unsustainable nature of current tactics.
Therefore, the part, he said, demands to know the actual number of illegal immigrants being arrested and deported and the capacity of detention centres to hold them throughout Sabah.
He added that it is clear that the current system is a failure.
Henrynus asserted that the arrest of a few thousand illegal immigrants has no discernible impact on the vast transient population and serves only to “hoodwink the voters into thinking the State and Federal government are taking action”.
He warned against obscuring the facts through deceptive actions.
To this, the State Government’s role and employer accountability are necessary to address this issue from becoming uncontrollable.
Anak Negeri also chastised local political entities for solely blaming Federal agencies like the police and immigration while neglecting the State government’s failure or inaction in enforcing crucial State laws to mitigate the problem.
“The State government does little or nothing to enforce existing land laws, local government laws, fisheries, forestry, national marine park regulations, labour laws and more to track the presence of illegal immigrants,” Henrynus pointed out.
He said the rampant recruitment of illegal immigrants by employers, perhaps to keep wages artificially low, is a major contributing factor to the crisis.
He drew a stark contrast with Sarawak’s economic well-being, largely achieved without reliance on foreign labour.
This highlights how Sabah’s overwhelming presence of illegal immigrants creates unfair job competition and strains health and social services, not to mention security and political stability.