Almost 7,000 illegal immigrants in Sabah deported since October 2020 - Hamzah

KOTA KINABALU: Nearly 7,000 illegal immigrants (PATI) in Sabah have been deported since October 2020.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said deportations were carried out without compromise on foreigners who entered and stayed in the country illegally.

According to him, from 1990 to 2021, more than 600,000 illegal immigrants were successfully deported.

"In this case, the Home Ministry and the Sabah State Government have decided to take firm action without compromise, including the deportation of foreigners who are in Sabah illegally.

"Based on records from 1990 to March 2021, more than 600,000 illegal immigrants, mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia, have been deported from Sabah, including nearly 7,000 illegal immigrants who were deported during the new Sabah state administration under Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Noor," he said. he said after paying a courtesy call by the Home Ministry delegation to the office of Sabah Chief Minister on Tuesday.

In astatement issued, Hamzah said, the Sabah State Government stressed that all foreigners who wish to be in Sabah must go through a legal immigration process and comply with the law.

He stressed that valid travel documents for foreigners are very important at this time for the success of the government's initiative to curb the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccination to all parties, including foreigners involved in the domestic economic sector.

"To strengthen border security control, the Sabah State Government has also approved a special allocation of RM500,000 to strengthen operations in the Sabah East Coast Security Zone (ESSZONE)," he added.