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KOTA KINABALU: A statement by a senior Warisan leader calling for “strict” documentation of Sarawak residents in Sabah is causing alarm among the community here.
Many who have settled in Sabah for decades are questioning the motive behind Warisan Vice President Darell Leiking’s call for Sarawakians to be documented in the state in terms of their identity and location.
Leiking, the deputy from Penampang, said it was necessary for the Sabah government to be strict with the entry of immigrants and Sarawakians.
In a later statement, Leiking explained that what he meant was that Sabah should reintroduce the imposition of social visa entry for Sarawakians entering the state that was phased out in the mid-1980s.
His explanation, however, has done little to quell the unrest among the Sarawak community here.
“This is an unfortunate statement that comes a few weeks before the elections.
“Sarawak people have settled in Sabah since the 1950s and 1960s, and now they make us feel like foreign immigrants,” said a Sarikei businessman who has lived in Sabah for more than three decades.
He explained that many Sarawakians like him came to work or start businesses in Sabah after the state government relaxed their entry into the state 35 years ago.
Sarawak residents like him chose to stay in Sabah without applying for a permanent residence permit, as applying for it was time-consuming and cumbersome.
“Leiking can compare us to immigrants, but the difference is that we have Malaysian identity cards and we are registered voters in Sabah, and we will respond through the ballot box,” said the businessman.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah analyst Lee Kuok Tiung said it was ironic that Leiking called for stricter restrictions on the entry of Sarawakians into Sabah, as the Warisan-led state government had appointed a Sarawak-born businessman to head the municipal council. from Sandakan two years ago.
Lee said Leiking appeared to be trying to divert the problem of illegal immigrants from Sabah to that of thousands of Sarawakians in the state.
“Don’t divert people’s attention when the illegal immigrant problem remains unresolved,” he said, noting that there has been a persistent perception that Warisan is a “PTI friendly party,” referring to the local term for illegal immigrants.
