FOUR TEMPORARY DETENTION CENTRES IN SABAH TO BE EMPTIED FIRST BEFORE THE TWO-MONTH ENFORCEMENT AND DEPORTATION PHASE OF THE 5P PROGRAMME FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEGINS TOWARDS THE END OF OCTOBER - MENTEK

Need to empty detention centres first, says Dept

Kota Kinabalu September 05, 2011: The four temporary detention centres in the State will have to be emptied first before the two-month Enforcement and Deportation phase of the 5P programme for illegal immigrants begins towards the end of October.

 "We need to empty the detention centres before integrated operations under the 4P are fully implemented because space is needed to place the illegals who will be arrested during the ops," said Sabah Immigration Director, Mohammed bin Mentek, recently.

"There are four temporary detention centres. In Kimanis, Papar, two in Sandakan and one in Tawau. Altogether, they hold 2,311 Filipinos and 333 Indonesans.

"About 90 per cent of them are waiting for the issuance of their travel documents and would be deported to their respective countries."

The 5P Programme involves Registration, Amnesty, Monitoring, Enforcement and Deportation. The second "P" under the 5P programme which involves amnesty for illegals will end on Oct. 10, two months after it began.

The amnesty exercise is specifically for those illegals who registered during the exercise, to return to their respective countries, voluntarily.

"The illegals must have the registration slips and valid travel documents in order to return home and they cannot use the slips as their travel documents.

"The registration slips are also proof that they have registered for the Immigration's biometric system under the 5P Programme," said Mohammed Mentek.

Mohammed Mentek assured that no enforcement action would be taken against those who have the registration slips from Aug. 11 to Oct. 10, although other enforcement agencies like the police have started their regular operations to arrest illegals who did not register under the 5P in Sabah.

He said illegals with the slips must return to their respective countries before Oct. 10, failing which they will face enforcement action by other government agencies that carry out operations.

The third 'P' in the 5P is monitoring that would be carried out for one week at a specified date later to ensure all foreigners with the slips return home.

On the number of illegals who have returned home, he said most of the 161,370 illegal immigrants who registered under the 5P had yet to go back.

Less than 10 per cent have done so. Hence, he called on employers to give their full cooperation in ensuring their foreign workers who had registered under the 5P return home first and later return to Sabah without having to fulfil the cooling off period requirement.

He said the fifth "P" which is deportation under the 5P, would overlap with the enforcement (4P) activities.

He stated that the official number of illegals in Sabah who registered during the 5P exercise was 161,370 comprising 115,046 Indonesians, 45,894 Filipinos and 430 illegals of other nationalities, including a family of seven Singaporeans who had overstayed here for almost 20 years Mohammed Mentek also said there would be no more extension of the registration exercise in Sabah although the 6P Programme in the peninsula has been extended.

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Lebih 2.3 Juta Pekerja Asing Dan Pati Berdaftar Untuk Program 6p

jumlah itu meliputi seramai 1,016,908 pekerja asing sah dan seramai 1,303,126 Pati.

"Ini menunjukkan satu angka dan jumlah yang begitu besar.Jumlah ini tidak termasuk yang enggan mendaftarkan diri, tidak termasuk pembantu rumah, tidak termasuk pelarian dan di Sabah dan Sarawak.

"Kalau kita tidak ambil tindakan, kita tidak lalui proses 6P, maka masalah ini akan lebih berat pada masa akan datang,"

Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein

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500,000 PATI Dijangka Ambil Kesempatan Daripada Program Pengampunan Sabah

"Kami menganggarkan kira-kira 500,000 pendatang asing tanpa izin akan tampil ke hadapan untuk mendaftarkan diri melalui program itu.

Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Datuk Sukarti Wakiman