Former Petagas assemblyman James Ligunjang said Azis should take a leaf from Malaysia’s experience with the Vietnamese refugees in Pulau Bidong, Terengganu in the 1970s.
The island, which was opened as a refugee camp on Aug 8, 1978, sheltered some 250,000 refugees who fled communist rule after the end of the Vietnam War. It was officially closed on Oct 30, 1991.
Ligunjang said the international community would not tolerate any refusal by the Philippines to accept its own citizens back into the country.
“The IMM13 holders cannot be treated differently from the Vietnamese,” he added.
Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah adviser Francis Goh meanwhile said Azis should prioritise Malaysia’s sovereignty.
“Nobody should come and stay in Sabah and then later give all sorts of excuses not to leave,” he said, adding that Azis should not continue defending the IMM13 holders by allowing them to remain in Sabah.
Many holders of the IMM13 document originally came to Sabah as refugees fleeing the civil unrest in the southern Philippines in the 1970s.
Azis had said that many of them, who are mostly second- and third-generation descendants, had no more family ties in the Philippines and preferred to remain in Sabah where they had been since birth.
However, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku leader Jeffrey Kitingan said it was not right for a deputy minister to speak on behalf of the Philippine government.
“Refugees normally come under UNHCR, and their repatriation should also be discussed with the UN agency,” he said.
He added that Malaysia and the Philippines have “a duty” to settle the issue.
“I have heard and read that they are ready to receive their people back home. So what is Azis talking about?”
He said the Philippines consulate had also come to Sabah to provide consular service, including the provision of passports and other documents.
“Understandably, there may be children or grandchildren of IMM13 holders who prefer to stay in Sabah, but that is not the issue.
“The issue is IMM13 holders or refugees. The same applies to holders of the kad burung-burung and census cards,” he said.
Many Sabah leaders have been urging the government to repatriate the 1MM13 holders, saying the unrest in the southern Philippines has ended.
There are an estimated 600,000 migrants in Sabah, including dependents or families of the original IMM13, kad burung-burung and census card holders.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Immigration Department said the decision on whether to send home the descendants of the IMM13 holders will only be known next year.
Sabah immigration director Muhammad Sade Mohamad Amin said this will be done after a census to determine their number is done during the implementation of the Temporary Sabah Card (PSS) in June.
Sade said the department only followed the instructions of the Foreigners Management Committee on the management of migrants in Sabah and noted that the committee has not decided on the fate of this segment of migrants yet.
“Right now, the government is more focused on resolving the problem of 133,055 people holding the IMM13, Surat Burung-Burung and Census letters,” he said when contacted.