KOTA KINABALU: The decision to issue special identity cards to undocumented foreigners in the state is humane and could be beneficial to Sabah, says a business group head.Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Datuk Michael Lui said all else aside, these people – documented or not – needed jobs, education and healthcare.

       He said if undocumented people who had been living in Sabah for generations and their children were given some form of identification (not amounting to citizenship), it would solve a number of social and economic problems.

       “Businesses would be able to hire ‘documented immigrants’ instead of foreign workers,” he said.

       Lui said not all sectors were allowed or could afford to hire foreign workers, and giving undocumented people a legal chance to earn a living was the right move.

       “I see this as a humane way to solve the undocumented people problem while addressing employment needs for Sabah,” he added.

       He felt this was not a political issue as the previous Parti Warisan-led state government had proposed a similar idea though it was opposed by many parties at the time.

       Liu also said the authorities must make sure that only genuine recipients got these special cards.

       Sabah social and political activist Kanul Gindol welcomed this move, noting that there was an urgent need to regulate these immigrants who had been in Sabah for years.

       “Only with proper regulations, such as issuance of documents, can we manage this,” he said.

       “They are here. Their children cannot choose who their parents are. Without proper documentation, these children are denied healthcare and education.”

       But he said the government must also ensure that Sabah’s porous long border with the southern Philippines was adequately protected.

       This included deploying more border security and the use of technology to monitor and protect the state’s sovereignty, he added.

       Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri protem president Datuk Henrynus Amin said the burden of having to “house” the undocumented workers should not be borne by Sabah but by the Federal Government.

       He said having the undocumented workers in Sabah was already a violation of immigration laws and allowing them to keep living here for generations was also illegal.

       He added that the move to give them special documentation without due process had no constitutional basis and was a direct contravention of the Immigration Act 1966 and against the provisions or spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

       He said the illegal immigration issue could be resolved by getting all foreigners to apply for a passport to be issued by their countries of origin and then given work permits.

       Henrynus said Sabahans had no objection to work permits being issued to foreign workers with the necessary travel documents.