He said he was disappointed that some Sabah leaders were already making assumptions on the PSS although the Foreigners Management Committee, which he co-chairs, had not finalised the details yet.

Once the plan was finalised, he said, a town hall session would be held to answer all concerns before its implementation on June 1 next year.

Azis said the Sabah leaders had unfairly criticised Putrajaya for not explaining the plan to them.

“How can we clarify this when the details are still being thrashed out by the committee?” he said after officiating the Love Sepanggar, Clean Inanam programme here today.

Several opposition parties, including PBS, had slammed the plan to issue the Temporary Sabah Pass, saying similar documents such as the IMM13, Surat Burung-Burung and the Census certificate had failed to resolve the illegal immigrant problem in the state previously.

The Sabah PPBM chapter also urged the government to put the implementation on hold, with its chief Hajiji Mohd Noor saying in the state assembly recently that the pass could be abused.

Home Minister and PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin had announced the PSS programme on Sept 9 as part of efforts to resolve Sabah’s decades-old illegal immigrant problem.

Azis said the IMM13, Surat Burung-Burung and Census certificate were being coordinated by three different agencies at present, and standardising them into a single pass could assist in the management of migrants.

“Besides, it is easy to produce fake documents. The syndicates will flourish and become rich if such papers are not replaced.

“In future, there will only be one document. Those without the PSS can be detained and deported instantly,” he said, adding that it would be difficult for the syndicates to reproduce the pass because of its security features.

A total of 136,065 holders of the IMM13, Surat Burung-Burung and Census certificate will be eligible to apply for the PSS.