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KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah police may propose a ban on non-Sabahans who have a criminal record from entering the state.
Saban Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali (Photo) He said police will soon propose the measure to the state government.
There needs to be a review of the law, which would allow non-Sabahans with criminal records to be removed from the state, he said.
Comm Hazani, who was previously the commander of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), noted that Sabah had its own immigration laws.
“We want to discuss with the state government the prohibition of these people entering the state,” he said during a press conference here on Tuesday (December 29).
Comm Hazani said the police would also propose blacklisting and expelling foreigners such as those with IMM13 refugee passes, who are convicted of certain types of crimes.
This comes after an armed riot on December 19, which involved a group of drunken men and two men who were exiled to Sabah from Peninsular Malaysia.
The incident resulted in the death of a Beaufort man.
Hazani said the main suspect, whom he identified as Hobalan N. Vello, also known as Jimmy Black, 37, is still in hiding.
“We are urging this man to surrender to facilitate investigations of the case,” he said, adding that eight others who had been captured would be charged in court for armed disturbances on Tuesday.
On other matters, he said that the Ops Benteng against cross-border crimes, including illegal entries, would continue.
“Benteng operations on land and at sea will continue. There have been no attempts by kidnap-for-ransom groups in Sabah waters recently due to the strengthening of border controls and patrols from Indonesia, the Philippines and us,” he said.
He said that the authorities in these three countries were also doing their best to curb the spread of Covid-19 transmission through stricter border controls and semi-closure measures.
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