KOTA KINABALU: Negative comments at the issuance of the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) from June 1, 2020, will not affect the focus of the state government in overcoming the problem of illegal immigrants in the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pix) said at least the present government tried to settle the problem compared to the previous government which only talked about it.
‘’The previous government had no effort to solve the problem by ensuring that the illegals, who were registered or otherwise, could be managed well.
‘’Through PSS, we can manage their documents well and monitor their whereabouts,’’ he told reporters after a courtesy call by Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi and the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (Aswara) Members of the Board of Directors at his office, here today.
He was asked to comment on a petition on the implementation of PSS through a social site from many netizens who were unhappy with the PSS.
On Sept 6, Minister of Home Affairs Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the decision of the government to issue the PSS to three categories of document holders, namely, IMM13, Burung Burung and Census Certificate.
Mohd Shafie said the move was crucial to ensure the plantation sector in Sabah had adequate manpower as many plantation owners were complaining of a shortage of labourers.
He said the problem was expected to become more acute when the Indonesian capital is shifted to East Kalimantan
According to Mohd Shafie, the Indonesia labourers working in the plantation sector would return to their areas of origin.
‘’We will face a shortage of plantation and construction labourers if the problem is not managed well,’’ he added. — Bernama
