PBS: Study RCI recommendations on stateless kids first
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) calls on the Sabah and federal governments to look at the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah as it tries to resolve the issue of legalising stateless children in the state.
PBS secretary general Datuk Jahid Jahim said the RCI panel in its report which was made public in December 2014, had recommended the setting up of a permanent secretariat to manage the various issues concerning illegal immigrants in the state.
The previous government complied and a technical working committee as well as a permanent committee were set up to deal with the problem. The technical committee received many recommendations, among which were the issuance of a Sabah identity card and the repatriation of illegal immigrants to their respective home countries.
“Therefore the present government should look into these recommendations first before deciding to issue identity cards to children of Sabahan women married to foreigners,” Jahid said in a statement.
This means that the new ruling governments at the state and federal levels need to set up these two committees again and implement the RCI panel’s recommendations.
The Tamparuli assemblyman also said he understood the decision was made based on humanitarian grounds but was of the opinion that undocumented children born of both Sabahan parents should be given priority by the government. “There are so many native children who are undocumented, especially in hard to reach areas in Sabah. Their plight should be looked into first. With regard to the stateless children, the government must be strict in the legalization process and to ensure that their mother is a genuine Sabahan,” he said.
The RCI on the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah was set up in 2012 and started its public hearings on Jan 14, 2013. The hearings ended later in the year and the panel’s findings and recommendations were made public in December the following year.