Filipino gets 10 years, 4 strokes for rape

Hasbi (right) escorted from court

KOTA KINABALU: A 19-year-old Filipino waiter was sent to prison for 10 years and ordered to get four strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to raping a 16-year-old local girl.

Hasbi Dani, who was brought before Sessions Court Judge Caroline Bee Majanil for trial, changed his pleas and admitted to committing the offence at the bushes in front of the public park in Likas Bay near here at 10pm on Nov 26, 2010.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzan Abd Kahar in presenting the facts of the case, told the court that the girl was waiting for a bus when an unknown man grabbed her by her neck from behind and dragged her into the bushes.

The man, later identified as Hasbi, threatened her not to scream and hit her abdomen and slapped her repeatedly until she passed out. According to the victim, when she regained her consciousness, she found her trousers had been pulled down to her knees.

Afzan said two of the girl's acquaintances who heard her cries for help went to the said place and found Hasbi on top of her trying to strangle her.

Hasbi tried to flee when he realised their presence but the duo managed to nab him. The girl, identified Hasbi during a police identification parade as the man who had raped her. Hasbi who was not represented, requested for a lenient sentence, saying he had repented.

Longer work permits: Happier planters, sadder Sabahans

Queville To

The federal government has done away with its 'discriminatory' policy involving foreign workers in the plantation sector.

KOTA KINABALU: The federal government has standardised its policy involving foreign workers in the plantation sector.

It has also doubled the duration of the worker permits for foreigners in the plantation sector.

As of last month, both smallholders and big plantations can hire foreign labour on a long-term basis.

Prior to this, the policy favoured only big plantations in the state and workers who completed their five-year contract were sent back.

Revealing the change in policy, Deputy Home Minister Lee Chee Leong said the new 10-year work permit, which is split into two and known as the “5+5 years” renewal of work pass, applied to all plantations irrespective of size.

Lee said this in the Dewan Rakyat recently in response to a question raised by Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui.
Chua had asked for the rationale behind the ministry’s double standard in implementing its policy on work pass renewal for foreign workers in the plantation sector.

Chua, who is also Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) vice-president, said she had been receiving complaints from smallholders in the east coast of Sabah, who questioned the discriminatory policy.

Smallholders in the oil palm sector said the discriminatory policy would make their farming practice uneconomical.

While the decision may put a smile on the faces of those in the business sector, ordinary Sabahans are grumbling that the employment situation in the state has been set back.

Expectations have been high that cheap labour from Indonesia and the Philippines would be phased out in favour of higher salaries to attract locals into the industry.

But the latest move appears to have put a dent to this aspiration.

RCI on illegals: Motion rejected

There must be a royal commission to find out why Sabah’s population has gone up by almost 400% in 40 years, says SAPP

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) is insisting that the government establish a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to find out why Sabah’s population has increased by nearly 400% in 40 years.

The party’s deputy president, Eric Majimbun, renewed the call after Dewan Rakyat Speaker  Pandikar Amin Mulia rejected his motion to discuss the issue. It was rejected in chambers, he told reporters.

SAPP, like many other groups, suspects that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has been covertly giving Malaysian citizenship to illegal immigrants in exchange for their votes.

Majimbun said Pandikar Amin’s reason for rejecting his motion was that the government was already addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

“Of course they are, but the problem persists and the action is taking too long,” he said.

Quoting from a census report, he said the Sabah population had ballooned by 390 % in 40 years.

“For West Malaysia there was an increase of 165%, for Sarawak it was 148%,” he added.
“An RCI has to be established to find out how and why.”

Majimbun called for a “total approach” to resolve the issue of illegal immigration, noting that several official efforts had failed.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced last week that the government would embark on another amnesty programme for illegal immigrants. Under the scheme, to be rolled out next month, up to two million illegal immigrants will be allowed to work and live freely in Malaysia.

By Tarani Palani

Projek IC profiteer seeks PM help

‘Sultan of Sulu’ seeks Najib’s intervention

He told the court that he has sent out several documents to the prime minister to sort out his problem.

KOTA KINABALU: Self-proclaimed ‘Sultan of Sulu’, Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad, a former Umno power-broker, is seeking the intervention of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over his predicament.

Akjan, who was remanded for seven days by the Magistrate’s Court here to facilitate investigations into allegations into his activities, told the court he had sent several documents to Najib to sort out the matter.
Taken in handcuffs, the former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee is being investigated under Section 130C of the Penal Code which covers acts of terrorism.

Police arrested the prominent businessman, who has a vast following among the Filipino community here, on Sunday afternoon at one of his residences here in an up-scale suburb in the city. He had just returned from Kuala Lumpur.

Akjan, 53, told magistrate Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim that whatever he had done was “for the country’s benefit and not my own”, apparently in reference to the long-standing Philippines claim on Sabah.

He said he understood the “seriousness of the matter” but requested for a shorter period of remand than the 14 days asked for by the police.

Akjan also asked that his case not be held in open court on the grounds that it was unique and serious matter involving the Malaysian government.

His family members also threatened journalists assembled outside court as they waited to take photographs of him.

A controversial figure since his meteoric rise in local Umno politics, Akjan has been in the news since February this year following a ‘coronation’ ceremony crowning him as the 33rd reigning Sultan of Sulu Sultanate at his residence in Likas on Feb 2.

The timing and the place of his ‘coronation’ raised eyebrows as it is well-known as a neighbourhood housing several senior Sabah Umno members including a former head of state.

Following the hue-and-cry by various political parties from both sides of the divide, Akjan issued a clarification saying that what actually took place was just a ‘thanks giving’ ceremony in conjunction with his “acceptance of offer” by the government-in-exile, to be their new sultan.

Umno operative

Akjan and other Umno operatives were arrested and detained under the ISA in the mid 1990s after he was allegedly caught with a briefcase containing about 2,000 Malaysian identity cards at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on a return flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Little is known about how he came to be in possession with the large number of documents which granted citizenship status to the holders and it was alleged that he was selling the ICs to Filipino illegal immigrants in Sabah for between RM500 and RM3,000.

Opposition politicians have always claimed that there was a murky link between him and Umno and illegal immigrants in the state who were ‘recruited’ as ‘phantom voters’ during elections.

After his released from a two-year detention term, Akjan repositioned himself in Umno at federal level and managed to align himself to former premier Tun Abdullah Badawi.

He was awarded generous government contracts including the prized RM215 million General Operations Force (GOF) housing scheme in Kinarut, in 2004.

The project was however abandoned in 2005 when only 35% of the project completed after a dispute between the main contractor, Nautica Technologies Sdn Bhd in which Akjan was the executive and managing director, and sub-contractors, Lankhorst Pancabumi Contractors Sdn Bhd.

Original Source: FreeMalaysiaToday

Is PBS still relevant for KDM?

Illegals put PBS in a tight spot

After reading the long answer written by Datuk Henrynus Amin in response to Politikampung, I have come to the conclusion that what Henrynus is saying is that Umno has changed, it can never be toppled, so it is best for everybody to support it by remaining in BN.

And when Datuk Marcus Mojigoh voiced out Upko's dissatisfaction about the perennial problem of the illegal immigrants in Sabah, he had to come up with something a lot stronger.

His whole, very comprehensive outline of complaints against the Federal Government about the same issue was in almost total contrast to what he said about Umno in response to Politikampung.

And then as if fearing a backlash from Umno like what has been suffered by LDP, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan immediately issued another statement to say that the problem of illegals in Sabah cannot be blamed on the federal of the State Government! Now, it doesn't take an Einstein to realise the ridiculous implications from this series of statements.

Several questions immediately comes to mind, and the most obvious is whether Henrynus as the PBS Secretary General and Pairin as PBS President, have different stands on the issue! And if that is true what really is the PBS' stand on illegals? If Pairin says both the Federal Government and the State Government cannot be blamed, then who should be blamed? Who should have implemented the immigration laws if not the Federal and State Governments? Doesn't Pairin realize that we have been talking about the Project IC, phantom voters, extraordinary increase in the state population, and so on for years now? As the Deputy Chief Minister and the former Chief Minister who was also the Chairman of the State Security Committee he should have a clear explanation about how the problem got worse over the last decades.

And also, he needs to give a suggestion on how to solve the problem.

As it is he just wants to wash his hands off the problem as if he is afraid of offending his political bosses.

As such, this begs the question - What is PBS in BN for? Now that Pairin had said that, what about his previous statements in which he said he wanted the illegal immigrants problem to be resolved by 2012? Is PBS still holding on to this demand? This awkwardness is not going to stop.

Sooner rather than, later, PBS will betray its own dilemma with other issues as well, proving that it cannot decide on doing the right thing.

PBS must know that it is high time PBS thinks about re-evaluating its real struggle and how it should fit in the current and future political setups of Sabah, especially on its relevance to the Kadazandusun struggle.

But then I don't see how PBS can resolve this dilemma if it still believes it should continue in BN.

But then, PBS cannot find the guts to leave the coalition for fear of repeating the previous 'blunder' for which Pairin has publicly apologised.

So it seems it is stuck with BN, and will continue to live in a dilemma.

And it will become more and more removed from its original struggle.

This article is lifted from The Borneo Post 15 May 2011 and written by Raymond Tombung

Chong: PBS told me to shut up on illegals

FORMER Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) supreme council member, Dr Chong Eng Leong claimed he left the party because PBS did not want him as a PBS member vocal on the illegal immigrant and Project IC issues.

"PBS refused me to submit a Memorandum to Suhakam in 2004 on the subject of Sabah's population explosion since 1970 and the Project IC issue. PBS wanted nothing to do with it as PBS was worried that Umno would accuse PBS of back-stabbing the BN again.

"PBS also refused me to present my papers as a PBS member on the same issue to the Parliamentary Select Committee on National Unity in 2005 and the Parliamentary Select Committee on National Integrity in 2006.

"I did all the above as a concerned lonely Sabahan. I need a political platform to further my desire to make wider awareness of this perennial predicament facing Sabah's security sovereignty within Malaysia.

"This is the main reason for writing my book Lest We Forget, the sub-title is Security and Sovereignty of Sabah," he said in refuting PBS Secretary General Datuk Henrynus Amin's claim that Dr Chong's departure from PBS was not related to the issue of illegal immigrants and fake ICs.

"We all know that we need a Federal Government that has a political will to face and solve this issue of illegal immigrants, Project IC and phantom voters.

"We all know that Umno and Barisan Nasional will not do this," he said.

Has PBS got the gut to tell its master?

Peter Marajin

Datuk Yong Teck Lee was the CM for only 2 years. What could a Sabah CM do within 2 years to solve a well entrenched and deep-rooted problem perpetuated by KL? And being a CM under the puppet of UMNO there is not much to maneuvre but to toe the line of the master's command.

Even though Tan Sri Chong Kah Ket made PTI problem as one of his priorities to solve as CM, did he manage to solve it? The answer is big NO. Why? Again it is the master who refuse to solve it. Why? Because they rely on the PTIs as their political lifeline to perpetuate the political power in Sabah and the country.

Now PBS has been in the BN government for 10 years now. Has PBS done anything to solve this perennial problem? The answer is NO.


Their leader especially Pairin only touches this subject once a year and that is during the party Congress in which he foams in the mouth during his keynote address to the delegates. After that he and the whole leadership of PBS become mute until the next congress. During the following congress he repeats the same issue again and again every year but remain silent in between. What does this mean to the people in general? It means:

- that PBS has no gut to tell the master (UMNO) to solve this problem once and for all for the sake of the real Sabahans and Sabah.

- that PBS is also beholden to the master just like SAPP when it was sleeping on the same bed with UMNO (ie. it is the master who calls the shot, the servants cannot do anything).

- that PBS leaders only pretending to solve the problem but they know they are powerless to do anything but toe the line.

- that PBS leaders especially Pairin raises the issue every party congress purely to raise the sagging spirit of his supporters so that they would continue to support the party and his leadership so that his position in the government and that of his cronies are assured and not in any way jeopardised.

- that Timbun is only a barking henchman to please the master so that in the process his own position is maintained indefinitely.

Peter Marajin is a member of the Sabah Progressive Party Supreme Council

SAPP's actions on solving illegal immigrants problem effective

Illegals menace worsened during PBS's decade in BN

KOTA KINABALU, May 9, 2011: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee, said in the few years that SAPP was in the state government, government ACTIONS on solving the illegal immigrants problem were effective.

"With the involvement of the National Security Council, the full force of the army, navy, police, national registration department, immigration and other agencies and foreign embassies were deployed. Bilateral efforts were made with neighbouring countries to take back the illegals.

"Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants were deported using military logistics while tens of thousands left voluntarily to escape the strict enforcement by the authorities. Legitimate foreign workers needed in Sabah with genuine employers were given work passes under the successful 1996 Regularisation Programme whereby Indonesian workers obtained valid passports at their consulates in Kota Kinabalu and Tawau while Filipino workers were issued passports by their consular officers from Kuala Lumpur. Genuine foreign workers therefore had no need for fake documents.

"Between 1995 and 1996, a police security operation known as Ops Kenal was launched to crush the fake IC syndicates. Hence, UMNO operatives like Akjan Ali (the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu) and many others were detained under the Internal Security Act. For once, there was real hope of a lasting solution to the illegals menace in Sabah. All these achievements are on the official records.

"But what has been happening in the last several years is the resumption of issuing Mykads to foreigners, now called "IC Najib". The population of foreigners has shot up to a million, according to the 2010 national census. Ex-ISA detainees like Akjan Ali had the cheek to "install" himself as "Sultan of Sulu" in clear defiance of Malaysia's sovereignty. And not only the suspect who murdered Joni Somudin cannot be found, even the fake Sultan is missing! Yet, PBS's Henrynus is still talking about "laboratory study on foreign workers" to be released.

"Even UPKO MPs Datuk Wilfred Bumburing and Datuk Markus Mojigoh have testified that the BN government is not serious about solving the illegal immigrant issue. On February 14, the Home Minister Datuk Hishamuddin Tun Hussein revealed that the federal government was waiting for the state response to the federal proposals on the illegal issue. What were the proposals and why has the state government not responded? PBS has senior ministers in both the State and Federal Cabinets. Surely these ministers know what is happening in the government. PBS leaders must stop misleading the people that the UMNO-dominated BN government will solve the illegals issue.

‘Sabah has immigration powers’

The state BN government can act on its own to deal with immigration issue, says former PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan.

KOTA KINABALU: Borneo rights activist Jeffrey Kitingan believes that Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) partner, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), is barking up the wrong tree by asking the federal government to grant immigration powers to the state.
He said the state already has immigration powers and all it needed to do was to enforce them to solve the problem of illegal immigrants.

Jeffrey, who is United Borneo Front (UBF) chairman, is also the younger brother of Deputy Chief Minister and PBS president, Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

Jeffrey said he did not understand why PBS felt the state BN government needed federal government backing on the issue.

He said that while he fully agreed with PBS secretary-general Henrynus Amin’s statement that the decades-long issue must be resolved, he was puzzled as to why the party felt that the state BN government had no powers to deal with the matter.

“This is because the state already has the full, unquestionable power to arrest illegals and deport them without referring to the federal government.

“The state’s power of immigration was never surrendered to the federal government. All the state government needs to do is to assert its power and solve our immigration problems.

“We still have the power to deny entry to non-Sabahans the same way Lim Kit Siang (the DAP leader at the time) was denied entry and was forced to re-board the plane during the Berjaya rule,” Jeffrey said.

He pointed out that the Immigration Department should report to Chief Minister Musa Aman.

“The chief minister can direct the Sabah Commissioner of Police to act in the same way the district officer can direct the district police chief to act,” he said.

“Let’s not forget that as chief minister, Musa is also the chairman of the State Security Committee, a unit under the state’s internal affairs unit.

“This committee is the one tasked with monitoring, co-ordinating and acting on security matters in Sabah,” Jeffrey added.

Initiate action

According to Jeffrey, all the state needed to do now was to initiate action to solve the state’s security problem without depending on the federal government to give the go-ahead.

“If the state BN is really serious about retaining Sabah as its fixed deposit, it would act on this matter for its own good as well.

“It cannot keep shying away from carrying out its duties and responsibilities and think it needs KL’s approval all the time,” he said.

He suggested that as BN component parties, PBS and Upko should engage with their main partner, Umno, in the state government to solve the problem.

“PBS and Upko should broach this matter to the state cabinet and deal with the federal government as soon as possible,” Jeffrey said.

He, however, questioned the sincerity of the state government in wanting to handle the issue that could cause many leaders to get their fingers burnt if they decided to go too deeply into it.

“I wonder if the (state security) committee has been meeting to discuss security and immigration matters.”

Last week, former Senator Dr Chong Eng Leong said the statement by PBS showed that the party was in a dilemma over its role in the BN coalition government.

PBS said last week that it was not satisfied with government action on illegal immigrants in the state and saw “the day-to-day police operations, roadblocks, IC checks or immigration raids as mere window-dressing”.

Michael Kaung

‘Sabah BN will fall’ over illegal immigrant issue

The federal government must bear the ultimate responsibility if the political mood in Sabah were to change for the worse, says Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

KOTA KINABALU: The recent murder of a by-stander, during a robbery by an illegal immigrant in Sabah, has thrown into sharp focus the giant in the room – the massive presence of illegal immigrants in the state.


In its strongest protest so far, a loyal Barisan Nasional ally said that the continued blatant disregard for the rule of law where foreigners were allowed to roam the streets with impunity would spell doom for Sabah’s ruling coalition.

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general, Henrynus Amin said that there is an urgent need for the federal government to resolve the perennial illegal immigration issue that has bugged the state seen as a ‘fixed-deposit’.

He deplored the failure of the federal government to deal with the huge presence of the foreign transient population of Sabah.

Henrynus, a former Member of Parliament, said the people of Sabah would not stand idly by if the state security situation degenerates into chaos due to the huge number of foreigners, mostly illegal immigrants, who may now have outnumbered the local population in certain districts.

He said as immigration is a federal matter, Putrajaya is expected to exercise its constitutional responsibility to ensure the security of the state.

“The federal government must bear the ultimate responsibility if the political mood were to change for the worse,” he said.

“Security is a serious matter of emotive significance with far reaching implications to the future wellbeing of the people of Sabah and the integrity of the nation if not handled properly and wisely,” he said.

He said the federal government should expect strong reactions by the people of Sabah any time as they are united to fight what they see as federal indecision and inaction.

“There are already enough people out there who are discontented and talking about their regret joining Malaysia.

“They cherish the time when Sabah was free from the threats of illegal immigration,” said Henrynus.

Govt must act now

The federal government must act now and decisively to turn the tide of public opinion in their favour.

“The federal government as the guardians of the security of the state as spelled out in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the federal constitution cannot ignore the plea of the people of Sabah,” he said.

The former MP said federal leaders must remember that the only reason Sabah joined the then Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in the formation of Malaysia was the need for security.

He said regional security and the need for military protection, rather than economic necessity, prompted the decision of the then independent territory to agree to the formation of Malaysia.

He said trumpeting economic achievement of the country would be meaningless if the security of the state is compromised and the people live in fear.

He pointed to the fact that the formation of Malaysia was achieved against the backdrop of the Philippines claim to Sabah and the aggressive Indonesian “crush Malaysia” campaign.

“There were already genuine concerns or fears of Sabah being overwhelmed by its neighbours, chiefly Indonesia and the Philippines, and to some extent, the then Malaya.

“Sabah leaders even asked to be protected from the more dominant and aggressive people from Malaya and Singapore,” he said.

Sabah has unique immigration powers that were granted through the Malaysia Agreement and later endorsed in the Federal Constitution to allow the people of Sabah to protect their state from foreign intrusion and domination.

“This explains why until recently West Malaysians and Sarawakians must go through the immigration checks with their international passport to enter Sabah.”

Return immigration powers

While the Malaysians from West Malaysia or Sarawak no longer use a passport to enter the state, they are still required to present themselves for immigration check and require a work pass to work in Sabah.

“If indeed the Federal government cannot handle or refuse to listen to the grouses of the people on the matter, then the people of Sabah mustmdemand for the immigration powers given or returned to the state,” Henrynus said.

He said patience is running thin in Sabah and there is lingering suspicion that elements within the Federal government are sympathetic to the foreigners.

According to him, the people of Sabah are not oblivious to the fact that thousands of foreigners have been issued with identity cards.

“In fact, foreigners are flocking to the Registration Department for their ICs, passports, and even applying and buying native land, getting trading licenses, opening bank account(s), and today dominating certain segments of the state economy chiefly the construction sector, transportation and plantation (sectors).

The demographic profile of Sabah has changed in recent years with foreigners dominating in certain districts, such as Kinabatangan, where, reports say, the local population has been relegated to mere 30% of the district population.”

Henrynus said the signs are evident everywhere as almost every corner of the state especially open markets or night markets, construction sites and plantations are dominated by foreigners.

Reports have also surfaced that in some towns, strangers with a strong foreign accent have gained control of the most strategic areas and stalls and have even chased away locals for the best spots in state-controlled markets.

Federal system not working

Henrynus said PBS is extremely concerned that the federal system on matters of security, immigration and enforcement is no longer working the way it should.

The party also voiced concern that the federal authorities seem powerless or lack the political will to deal with the transient foreign population.

While PBS has spoken against syndicates specializing in issuing Malaysian identity cards in the past, it is surprised that no one has been charged in the courts for these crimes.

Henrynus contended that the police who arrested those involved in the IC scam under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the past, were in fact just sweeping the whole issue under the carpet as crucial information about the masterminds or real perpetrators were sealed from public scrutiny.

“It is public knowledge that using the ISA against these syndicates is nothing but mere public relation exercise to hoodwink the people into thinking that the government had acted.

“Unless evidence is produced in the court of law and those committing criminal acts are punished to the full extent of the law, it does not take a genius to realize that the use of ISA is a mere ploy to silence witnesses rather than investigating and punishing the guilty ones,” he said.

The party, Henrynus said, is ready to render assistance to the federal authorities in whatever way necessary to weed out those who sympathize or are colluding with illegal IC syndicates now deeply embedded in government departments or agencies.

He said it would be a legitimate demand for the state to refer back to the Malaysia Agreement where the state was given certain immigration powers to protect itself.

What he envisages is a mechanism whereby the state would be allowed to create its own state immigration enforcement body and enforce the immigration laws applicable to Sabah.

Henrynus, however, said that PBS has no dispute over foreigners working legally in the state but has set a deadline to resolve the illegal immigrant problem by 2012.

He said the day-to-day police operations like setting up road blocks, checking Identity Cards or conducting immigration raids are “largely seen by the public as mere window dressing”.

The party stand comes after increasing worries that the opposition would tap the dissatisfaction felt in the state over the issue during the next general election.

By Michael Kaung

Upko decries inaction on illegals

Opposition SAPP Youth led RCI campaign on PTI

The Home Ministry is not serious in tackling the illegal immigants (PTIS) issue in Sabah, said United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO).

Its treasurer-generaI, Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh, alleges that there seemed to be a lack of political will in addressing the matter.

"When something like this is debated in Parliament, they tried so hard to evade the issue. They always beat around the bush when asked by Sabah MPs. lt is annoying getting that negative reaction," he told. The Bornea Pos, when asked to comment on the public outcry following the murder of van driver Joni Somudin by a robber.


He urged the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to do something about it.

Mojigoh said a memorandum on illegal immigrants had been submitted to the Federal Government by UPKO deputy presidernt Datuk Wilfred Bumburing sometime last year, but he does not know what has become of the memorandum.

"I think they just throw the memorandum into the rubbish bin," he said.

Mojigoh said the people are already fed up and that the people could see how useless it is even with their representatives voicing their grouses on their behalf.

He said that while foreign labourers are crucial for Sabah development, particulary, in the construction industry, it is imperative to ensure  they are here legally.

"The bad hats have to be screened. Those who have no business to be in Sabah must be sent back," he said.

Mojigoh also stressed the need to facilitate their work passes, adding that foreigners who overstay and do not have any document must be arrested and deported to their home country.

However, the lack of a positive directive and effort to address the problem has made it difficult for enforcement agencies to act on the issue.

The lack of a positive direction and effort has also, according to Mojigoh, led the people to perceive that the minister in charge is not keen in solving the problem.

By Janne Lajiun BP