490 Filipinos deported from Sabah

SANDAKAN: A total of 490 illegal immigrants from the Philippines were deported to their homeland through Sandakan Port here yesterday.
Sabah National Security Council (NSC) secretary Rodzi Md Saad said they consisted of 309 men, 141 women and 40 children, bringing to a total of 13,145 illegal immigrants having been deported to their respective country of origin since Jan 1 this year.
He said the total number of illegal immigrants deported so far this year comprised 10,761 Filipinos, 2,289 (Indonesians) and 95 of other nationalities.
"The deportation of the Filipinos yesterday was to enable the Muslim immigrants to celebrate Aidilfitri with their loved ones back home," he said when met by reporters at the port.
The deportation process of the Filipinos at the port started at 9pm, where they boarded a ferry to Zambonga, in the Philippines. The journey is expected to take 22 hours.
Rodzi said 543,086 illegal immigrants had been deported from Sabah to their respective country of origin since 1990.
He said they were currently 4,989 illegal immigrants at temporary detention centres in the state, comprising 1,666 in Kota Kinabalu), 1,353 (Papar), 1,049 ( Sibuga Sandakan) and 921 (Tawau).
He advised the people in the state to not protect illegal immigrants, but to report their presence to the authorities for further action. — Bernama