KOTA KINABALU: A special committee on undocumented foreign workers and nationals in Sabah has been set up with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan at the helm.

       The move by the state government comes after Sabah leaders unanimously rejected a recent Federal Government proposal to issue Foreigner Cards to Sabah's undocumented workers.

       The state Cabinet has made Kitingan the chairman of the committee in its quest to resolve Sabah's long-standing issues over undocumented foreign workers and nationals.

       The committee will be tasked with collecting input from law enforcement agencies, industry players, political leaders and community leaders on how best to address the issue of undocumented foreign workers and their dependants in Sabah.

       Kitingan said on Wednesday (Feb 16) that both the Sabah and federal governments agreed that illegal immigrants must be charged in court and deported immediately.

       “We are currently inundated with illegal immigrants who have taken up jobs that our citizens do not want.

       “They have slipped under the radar. We have no idea where they are, who they are or what they are up to. If we are not informed of their activities, we are exposing our citizens to security threats as well as health hazards,” he said in a statement.

       As the chairman of the committee, Kitingan said, he will convene meetings with heads of law enforcement authorities, employers who hire foreign workers, political leaders from both sides of the divide and community leaders.

       After this series of meetings is completed and the data gathered, his committee will present a paper to the state cabinet to be discussed further and hopefully, solutions to the problem will be found, he added.

       “I believe we will be able to find the best solutions to this situation after extensive discussions with all the relevant stakeholders. I have set a deadline to present this cabinet paper in three months from today (Feb 16).

       "I hope the outcome will be acceptable to everyone, especially Sabahans,” he said.

       On Feb 10, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin announced that a special card would be issued within three months to undocumented foreigners who had long lived in Sabah but stressed that the card was not a conferment of Malaysian citizenship or permanent residency.

       He said card holders could then be employed and given work permits to ease labour shortages.