586,000 illegals deported from Sabah since 1990
The Philippine embassy has also hastened the issuance of travel documents to illegal immigrants to facilitate deportation.
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 586,700 illegal immigrants were deported from Sabah from 1990 until Sept 30 this year, according to the home ministry.
The ministry said the government, through the Committee on the Management of Foreign Nationals in Sabah, is going all out to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants in the state.
Enforcement and deportation of illegal immigrants have been stepped up, it said.
According to the ministry, the cooperation of the Philippine embassy had also been enlisted to speed up issuance of travel documents to illegal immigrants detained in Sabah to facilitate deportation.
“This cooperation has had a positive impact in that these documents are made available in two to three weeks.
“This compares to two to three months before, since the implementation of the move (managing foreign nationals in Sabah) in January 2016,” the ministry said in a written reply to a question from Wilfred Madius Tangau (Upko-Tuaran).
The MP had wanted to know when the government would be implementing all the recommendations made by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah.
The ministry added that the government had also introduced the term “rekod kelahiran” (birth records) to document births of non-citizens in Sabah.
This came into force on Sept 15, 2015, aimed at differentiating clearly the documents of birth for citizens and non-citizens in the state.
As such, the term “sijil kelahiran” (birth certificates) in Sabah is only for citizens, the ministry said.
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The ministry’s reply was uploaded on Parliament’s website today.