PRESS STATEMENT By Voon Lee Shan -  Parti Bumi Kenyalang President- 17 October, 2019

The Sarawak government is reminded of the need to tighten or to maintain immigration control to ensure homeland security and public safety. Any slacking in immigration control of foreigners and people from Malaya and Sabah will have great impact not only on business and livelihood of Sarawakians, but, also on the security of Sarawak.

Worries will be seen if Sabahans, as proposed by YAB CM Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari, will be allowed to enter into Sarawak without restrictions or without a passport. The Chief Minister is advised not to make any decision in haste because unrestricted entry of people from neighbouring countries and from Sabah can create many economic, social and security problems in Sarawak. It is easy to let Sabahans and foreigners to come into Sarawak, but, it would be difficult to evict or deport them once they are settled or create trouble here.

The Sarawak government is reminded that no support will come from Sarawakians of which PBK called, “open border policy” proposed by the Chief Minister. We cannot allow an open border policy or to relax immigration rules to give unrestricted entry to Sabahans to reciprocate what Sabah had since 1984 done to Sarawak. Whatever hospitality they accorded to us should not necessary see a reciprocal treatment in the same way from us.

We can return their good gestures in many other ways.

The Sarawak government must understand that unrestricted entry by Sabahans, can take away lots of job and business opportunities of Sarawakians. Besides, taking away jobs and business, they shall enjoy our free medical benefits and occupy our hospital beds at the expense of our people here too. With their influx, Sarawak can find it difficult to cater the medical and social needs of her own people.

Tight control over immigration and border entry still could not discourage or stop illegal immigrants to enter Sarawak. It is also a worrying sight that those who entered legally could easily overstay here. We do not wish Sarawak to become another Sabah swarmed with problems related to foreigners.

The presence of about one thousand Suluks and Bajaus from the Philippines settling in Miri in past years had caused uneasiness to fishermen in Miri Division. They are good seafarers and fishermen and our locals seem no match to them. We should not forget the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem had went all out to get the illegal Suluks who came from the Philippines be deported from Sarawak because many of them were suspected to have links with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader, Nur Misuari, who was said had expanded claim on Sabah to include Sarawak.

There is a worrying sight in Sabah at the moment with the presence of about 660,000 illegal immigrants in which the federal government intend to issue special pass to them to live in Sabah. It is a known fact that foreigners could obtain mykad easily in Sabah and these people can easily slip into Sarawak. Being not their own homeland, they owe no allegiance to Sabah and Sarawak. In recent years, many were arrested for terrorism and for committing crimes in Sabah and Sarawak and we do not want this to happen to peaceful Sarawak. To allow an open door border policy will also see the influx of Malayans, extremists, criminals including terrorists and kidnappers entering Sarawak through Sabah. We should not invite trouble into our own backyard.

Concerning security matter, our government should be sensitive to ensure past events from recurring. We should not forget the beheading by foreign kidnappers recently of Bernard Then Ted Fen, when he was holidaying in Sandakan, Sabah.

The Sarawak government has also to be reminded of the Tawan Sarawak agenda by the Pakatan Harapan government to take over the reign of the Sarawak government in coming Sarawak elections. If this is to happen, Sarawak would likely lose immigration control of the State. In recent years, there are Malayan politicians calling for free or unrestricted entry by Malayans into Sarawak. Open door border policy can make our borders very porous to extremists and criminals to enter Sarawak. We do not welcome extremists and criminals into Sarawak and it is for this reason, some foreigners and Malayans are still barred from entering Sarawak.

The Sarawak government is also reminded that even in the European Union, holders of European Union passports, which allow holders to travel within the 28 European Nations, are subjected to restrictions of stay within the European Nation countries. They may be allowed long stay but are not allowed to work in the designated country.