Hajiji said he was aware of complaints from the public on why this was happening and how it had been allowed to go unchecked for so long.

He added that when people arrived in Labuan from the peninsula or elsewhere, they would be screened by the immigration authorities, but this was not the case when they came over to Sabah from the island.

“There are requests from the people that those coming into Sabah (from Labuan) must also go through the same immigration checks,” he told reporters after an event here today.

“We will study the matter because this has been the standard practice all this time.”

Hajiji said the state would decide on the next course of action after receiving the report from the immigration department.

Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili had previously said undesirable elements were sneaking into Sabah via Labuan as there were no checks at the two main ports in the state.

The PBS president said there were no immigration checks on passengers, ferries or sea vessels arriving at the Menumbok port, which is near Labuan, or at the Kota Kinabalu ferry terminal here.

These are the two main entry points into Sabah from Labuan.

“This is a serious loophole (in enforcement). This has led to the unfettered entry of undesirable elements, including wanted criminals, using this route to escape the law,” he said.

This federal policy and relaxation of immigration rules had caused the state to lose control of its rights, he added.

Ongkili said non-Sabahans were also abusing the loophole by overstaying or illegally working in the state, in contravention of immigration law and rules under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Labuan was declared a federal territory in April 1984 after it was handed over to the federal government by the Sabah government led by then chief minister Harris Salleh.