KOTA KINABALU: A pledge to continue to find solutions to Sabah illegal immigrant problems and solutions to native land issues is one of the highlights of a special 16-point Sabah Barisan Nasional manifesto.
The special manifesto by the state Barisan, aimed at countering various local issues, including oil royalties raised by the opposition, was launched by Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman together with heads of component parties at the Sabah Umno headquarters here on Monday.
``This is our commitment to the rakyat. We are continuing our efforts. Barisan Sabah will do more,'' he said in dismissing opposition promises in their manifesto for Sabah as unrealistic.
The state Barisan manifesto promises to implement the recommendations of the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry to solve the illegal immigrant problem, he said in apparent reference to the proposal by the opposition to reissue identity cards (ICs) for Sabahans.
The manifesto, which printed in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Kadazandusun, promises to also implement new laws and institutions to speed up solutions to land matters under Native Customary Rights (NCR).
Sabah Barisan also promised to protect the spirit of the 20-point Malaysia Agreement of 1963 while also promising equal opportunity for all in state service.
``The government has committed to continue special cash payments, development and operational funding exceeding 20% of oil and gas revenue,'' Musa said, promising to match the Pakatan Rakayat's promise to give Sabah 20% royalty.
In launching the manifesto, Musa said that the state Barisan government was prudent in its spending and has over RM4.088bil in reserves and had helped reduce poverty rates from 19.7% to 8.1% over the last three years.
Among the achievements of the state Barisan government included the issuance of communal titles that involved over 192,000 villagers while tourism earnings hit the RM5.17bil mark last year.
A final solution needs to be reached to address the problem of Filipino refugees, including their children who have no documents, in Sabah.
ReplyDeleteTestifying as the fourth witness at the public hearing on Tuesday, he said an ultimate decision on 33,019 refugees that were recorded through revisions conducted in 2007 and 2010, had yet to be determined.
ReplyDeleteThe aim of the revisions was to enable the 33,019 refugees to apply for the IMM13 status, which has yet to be implemented by the Immigration Department until now.
ReplyDelete“And these children who have no documents are categorised as ‘stateless children’ by several enforcement agencies and they could not be documented for birth certificates as marriage certificates are needed.
ReplyDeleteMoktar said the Settlement Unit had done their best to address the matter by tracing the refugees in 2007 and 2010 where their officers had interviewed the parents and grandparents including taking their photographs and their fingerprints. The unit stopped the revision in 2010 for those who do not have valid documents
ReplyDeleteMoktar explained that State and Federal government had allowed for basic education classes to be given to the children which was done by the Special Task Force and other non-governmental organisations have been allowed to provide the basic education
ReplyDelete“The State Government gazetted lands for the five settlement schemes for the Filipino refugees where the UNHCR funded the setting up of four schemes in Kinarut, Tawau, Semporna, and Sandakan while the one in Telipok was funded by the State Government.
ReplyDeleteThere are 33 village refugee settlements in Sabah that are being handled by the Federal Special Task Force (FSTF) and the unit did help FSTF during its census exercise for the refugees.
ReplyDeleteParti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan has called for a definite solution to the state’s illegal immigrant problem, saying the issue has been going on for so long.
ReplyDeleteAmong the guidelines proposed were the law on enforcement and prevention of entry by illegal immigrants, membership of the RCI which would include representatives from all the component parties, and the RCI decision which would take at least six months up to a maximum of two years, said Pairin.
ReplyDeletePairin also suggested that officers in Sabah and Sarawak, who had the right qualification, to be given the opportunities to head important federal departments and agencies.
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