KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Supreme Council Member (AMT) and Tungku State Assemblyman (ADUN), YB Assaffal P. Alian, expressed full support for the concerns raised by the Sabah Immigration Officers Union (KPPIS) over the implementation of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency Act 2024 (Act 860).
According to him, the introduction of Act 860 is not merely a coordination effort for border security, but can also be viewed as a subtle move to take over Sabah’s immigration autonomy, which is an exclusive right of the Sabah Government.
Assaffal said Sabah’s immigration rights were a fundamental condition in the formation of Malaysia, as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and further detailed through the Immigration Act 1963 (Act 27/1963).
He stated that in the original draft of the 1963 Bill, Sabah and Sarawak were granted separate entity status, with control over entry matters placed fully under the jurisdiction of each respective state.
He stressed that efforts to centralise power through Act 860 appear to contradict the spirit of “sovereign territories” that was promised to Sabah during the formation of Malaysia.
In the same statement, he also reminded that the process of centralisation is not new, as the Immigration Act 1959/1963 had previously been amended under Section 3(1A) to allow the Minister of Home Affairs to appoint the Director of Immigration and other senior officers.
According to him, what is happening through Act 860 is merely a “repeat broadcast” of that centralisation process, but on a much larger scale through the establishment of a fully federal agency.
Assaffal said such a trend should not continue, as the Sabah Immigration Department should instead be strengthened as a more independent state institution without continuous interference from the Federal executive.
He also raised concerns regarding the erosion of the Sabah Chief Minister’s absolute authority in immigration matters.
According to him, under Section 65 of Act 155, the Sabah Director of Immigration is required to comply with directives issued by the State Authority, namely the Chief Minister of Sabah.
However, he noted that under Act 860, the new federal agency will be headed by a Director-General appointed by the Federal Government and subject to instructions from the Minister of Home Affairs.
Although there is a provision requiring compliance with state directives under Section 6(3), he expressed concern that the existence of this central agency layer would technically override the Chief Minister’s executive authority on the ground.
At the same time, Assaffal also referred to the “five major loopholes” highlighted by KPPIS as evidence that the new legislation failed to take Sabah’s constitutional sensitivities into account.
He said one of the key concerns was the administrative resolution of overlapping functions under Section 8 of Act 860, which he argued opens the door for Putrajaya to make decisions without referring to Sabah’s original constitutional rights.
In this regard, he posed an open question to the Sabah State Government regarding the extent to which the implications of Act 860 had been thoroughly studied by the state leadership.
He also questioned whether Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor realised that by allowing a Federal agency to take over functions that should instead be strengthened under the Sabah Immigration Department, the state government was indirectly surrendering Sabah’s autonomy to the Federal executive.
He stressed that the issue is not merely administrative in nature, but involves fundamental conditions enshrined in Act 27/1963 and Sabah’s rights as an equal founding partner of Malaysia.
