Enforce the laws, urges Pairin

26th May, 2008

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan yesterday asked the police and immigration to step up enforcement raids on illegal immigrants in Sabah to guarantee locals’ safety.

He said since the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry or a select committee to deal with the perennial problem in Sabah would take time, the police and immigration were vested with adequate powers to arrest the illegals.

“Regardless of whether a royal commission of inquiry or a select committee is established to deal with the problem, police and immigration operations to nab the illegals should continue and in fact, be intensified,” he told reporters.

“Are we really serious in wanting to protect the citizen of the country and the sovereignty of the country? If we really want to see the sovereignty of the country protected and the rights of the citizen to be protected, then the law must be enforced,” he urged.

Immigrants caught without the necessary valid documents must be deported to their country of origin. They cannot be kept in the detention camp for long because it is just a temporary shelter for them while waiting to be repatriated, Pairin said.

“Many people in Sabah are anxious to see a royal commission of inquiry set up to address the illegal immigrants’ issue in the state,” said Pairin who is also Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president.

“In fact, the request was made long ago. The proposal to establish a parliamentary select committee also has its advantages.

“But what is my fervent hope how is for the security forces, which have the powers to tackle the problem, to step up enforcement and act immediately.

Pairin said: “To me, whether a select committee or a commission is formed is not a problem. We already have laws in place on illegal immigrants.

“What’s important is that we must be really serious in protecting our citizens and sovereignty of our country,” he said.

He also suggested the manpower strength and allocations for enforcement agencies be increased for the country to have a bigger capacity in law enforcement.