The Malaysian Insight

REFUGEES and migrants fleeing violence in the restive southern Philippines will be placed on the border islands of Sabah, and not on the mainland, said Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Shafie said the state may face a similar situation as in the 1970s when thousands of Filipino migrants entered the state.

“When there was civil unrest in southern Philippines in the 70s, the United Nations (UN) took the role to assist them. The Sabah government gazetted several areas for the UN.

“So we need to learn from past experience and we proposed a settlement far away from the mainland… we will not allow them on the mainland,” he said after today’s state assembly in Kota Kinabalu.

There have been rising concerns over security in southern Philipines following the potential for armed conflict between state powers and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari has warned of war against state forces in the event that a proposed federalism falls through.

Shafie said while the state government has yet to identify the islands, he has ruled out the marine parks of Sipadan and Mantanani.

In the 1970s, when Sabah accepted the refugees, many of them were issued with the IMM13 documents to allow them to do business in the state.

The problem became a complex one when there were reported incidents of migrants having obtained citizenship through the illegal means. – April 17, 2019