38%-of-people-in-sandakan-are-immigrants-rci-told
by Murib Morp. Posted on July 26, 2013, Friday
KOTA
KINABALU: The presence of a huge number of immigrants in Sandakan would
have a significant impact on the development plans in the district,
especially on the provisions of public utilities and infrastructures.Sandakan Municipal Council’s (MPS) president Datuk James Wong, told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants here that there were more than 170,000 foreigners in the district, many of whom are without proper documents.
Testifying at the public inquiry yesterday, Wong said the figure represented about 38 per cent of the total population of the 875 square miles district, which is depending mostly on agriculture and tourism.
“Almost 40 percent of the people in Sandakan are foreigners, both legal and illegal immigrants. This is a huge number and it more or less affect the planning of development in the area,” he said.
He noted that the earliest settlers in Sandakan were the Orang Sungai and Suluks as well as the Chinese, who came in from Hong Kong later during the Second World War era.
Today, however, a wide range of races and ethnics, including immigrants from various countries, make up the population of Sandakan.
He informed that many immigrants from the neighbouring countries, especially the Philippines, were still coming in to Sandakan illegally through the many back doors along the district’s coastlines.
He said immigrants sneak into Sandakan from the Philippines using at least 32 “jalan tikus” (secret routes), attracted by the promise of economic opportunities and employment in agriculture and construction sector.
“They cause many problems. They build squatter colonies and therefore contribute to uncleanliness and untreated sewerage issue, water and electricity theft.
“They are also involved in criminal activities and pose security threats. Many of them also conduct business without permits, selling products including illegal items along the walk path in town area and other places.
“Some of them are also involved in smuggling, even poaching of turtle eggs. This has been a serious problem that has been discussed by the enforcement agencies for many years,” he said.
Wong said the municipal council has been actively taking action to curb the most prominent problem related to the immigrants, namely their tendency to seek shelter in squatter colonies.
He said MPS enforcement personnel, assisted by enforcement officers from other agencies, from time to time raid and demolish illegal structures built by the immigrants.
He informed that there were 41 squatter colonies left in Sandakan, after MPS demolished the entire houses in two colonies. In total, over 4,800 houses has been demolished by MPS between 2005 and May this year.
A recent census conducted under the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOMM) initiative found that there were 7,620 houses in the remaining colonies.
More than half or 3,936 of these houses belong to immigrants, involving 20,050 occupants.
Wong proposed that there should a clear-cut policy and well-planned action for dealing with squatter colonies that cover various agencies.
He noted that problems usually arise when squatters build their houses on different lands such as river riparian reserve, state land and so on that falls under the jurisdiction of different agencies.
Wong was the last witness for the session which ended yesterday. The inquiry has heard testimonies from 197 individuals so far and is expected to call in at least 10 more witnesses when it resumes its hearing on August 15.
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