PRESS STATEMENT: 10 MARCH 2026 - Illegal Immigrant Issue in Sabah: Implement
Large-Scale Clean-Up Operations
I refer to the
question raised by Wilfred Madius Tangau in the Dewan Rakyat recently
regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal
Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCI). This
issue has long troubled the people of Sabah, and I express my full
support for his position.
Like Madius, I believe both the
State and Federal Governments have failed to demonstrate the
seriousness required to implement the RCI recommendations and resolve
Sabah’s long-standing illegal immigrant problem.
According to the
Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), as of January 2026 there
were approximately 1,040,000 non-citizens residing in Sabah. This is
an extraordinarily large figure that raises serious questions about
the true demographic composition of the state. The key question that
must be answered transparently is: how many of these individuals are
actually illegal immigrants?
While
enforcement agencies do carry out arrests and deportations from time
to time, the current small-scale “arrest and deport” approach is
insufficient to address the allegation that hundreds of thousands of
illegal immigrants exist in the state.
What Sabahans
want is a serious, systematic, and periodic statewide clean-up
operation to address the scale of illegal immigration with the
capacity to arrest and deport tens of thousands of illegal immigrants
in each coordinated operation.
However, such
operations can only be carried out if the State Government under the
leadership of Hajiji Noor firmly presses the Federal Government on
the urgent need for their implementation.
There should be
no hesitation in doing so. For
decades, individuals such as Dr. Chong Eng Leong have exposed
evidence related to the alleged “Project IC”, which many Sabahans
believe contributed to the present demographic challenges.
PATI has also contributed to a range of social issues including
electricity and water theft, poor waste management, begging
activities, and other related problems.
More concerning
is the confusion that has emerged as a result. In some cases,
individuals who share similar physical features, accents, or cultural
backgrounds with illegal immigrants have been wrongly labelled as
such — even though they are native Sabahans and legitimate
Malaysian citizens.
This situation
risks slowly undermining the unity of what we often describe as
Bangsa Sabah. Such division weakens us at a time when unity is
essential — not only to defend the rights of Sabah, but also to
address longstanding imbalances in economic development, education,
healthcare, and infrastructure.
The illegal
immigrant issue has already been widely debated among Sabahans on
social media. Therefore, the Chief Minister should face no difficulty
in pressing the Federal Government to implement large-scale clean-up
operations, as such measures would almost certainly receive strong
public support.
I also urge
Wilfred Madius Tangau to consider tabling a motion in the next
sitting of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly calling for the
implementation of large-scale clean-up operations in Sabah before the
16th Malaysian General Election.
In addition, the
Minister responsible for Sabah and Sarawak affairs, Mustapha Sakmud,
should play a more proactive role by raising the issue with Anwar
Ibrahim and the Minister of Home Affairs in the Federal Cabinet and
pressing for decisive action.
Sabah cannot
continue living with demographic uncertainty and rising social
tension caused by this unresolved issue. The RCI has already exposed
the problem. What is lacking today is not information — but
political will. Both the State and Federal Governments must now act
with firmness and courage to safeguard the future of Sabah and its
people.
Christopher
Masudal
Strategic
Communications Director
Parti Warisan
