Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri (PKAN) said substituting all the migrant documents, held by some 136,000 foreigners in Sabah, with the IMM13 pass would reclassify the illegal immigrants as refugees.
For example, its president Henrynus Amin said, issuing IMM13 passes to Filipino illegals claiming to be refugees will set a dangerous precedent with far reaching consequences to the security of the state.
“The blanket approval of IMM13 passes to the 136,000 foreigners, and possibly up to 600,000 Filipino illegals, is a serious breach of the federal security obligation to Sabah,” Henrynus said here today.
PKAN is the first local party outside of the ruling state coalition to publicly oppose the proposal after Warisan and Upko gave their thumbs down.
Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin had proposed the use of the IMM13 pass as a standard document for all IMM13, Surat Burung-Burung and Census Slip holders to resolve the long-standing stateless and refugee issue in Sabah.
Henrynus said that contrary to claims, the IMM13 did not facilitate the repatriation of Filipino illegal immigrants.
He said the issuance of the IMM13 pass to illegals had been carried out without the expressed consent of the state government or the state legislative assembly.
“It is, in fact, a legal document which exempts Filipino illegals and their dependents from the strict requirements of immigration laws,” he claimed.
This was because holders of the pass enjoyed state protection and privileges to stay, work, trade, get married and start a family.
“Strictly speaking, Filipino illegal immigrants who arrived after the 1980s are essentially economic refugees and do not qualify to be given the IMM13 pass or refugee status,” he said.
Henrynus accused the immigration authorities of practising double standards when it came to enforcement in Sabah.
He said while the federal government was raiding illegals and even rejecting Rohingya refugees in peninsular Malaysia, “it is planning to legalise or issue IMM13 passes to migrants in Sabah”.
“We urge the government to immediately scrap the IMM13 proposal and hold discussions with the Philippine government for the orderly repatriation of Filipino illegals in Sabah,” he said.
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