Several quarters have expressed hope that the formation of Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSZONE) represents the government’s first step to resolve the ‘Sabah issue’ of migrants that have been ongoing for years.

The ESSZONE is aimed at ensuring enhanced security and well-being of the people in Sabah, specifically, and in Malaysia as whole.

There would be increased security in 10 areas, namely: Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, and Tawau.

ESSZONE will involve the resettlement of mainly illegal or stateless persons in Sabah, and is targeted to be a holistic, rather than a purely military approach, to deal with the crisis sparked off by the landing of the Sulu intruders since Feb 9.

“I see this as the start of a cleanup process of what has been a problem for so many years. Something that we have closed an eye to, and the intrusion woke us up to do something,” said a local lawyer closely monitoring the situation.

The lawyer, who declined to be named, said that the bloodshed caused by the violent incursion by the sultanate has highlighted a bigger issue on the legal, and illegal, migrants in the state.

“We all know people have been travelling with ease between Sabah and Philippines for centuries, having barter trading with relatives on both areas.

“Moving in and out without any passports was compounded by the fact that many then became citizens, now we have a situation where we are confused as to whether they are Filipinos or Malaysians.

“It has always been too close for comfort, physically, geographically, culturally... and I believe the government wants to begin to solve these issues now. In fact, it has become a necessity,” he said.

Human rights NGO Tenaganita reminded the government that the ‘Sabah issue’ involves “broader, political implications following the big mess” and should not be solved by simply shifting people.

Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez said that there are some “major concerns” over the ESSZONE, chief among them are the rights of illegal migrants and stateless persons.

“We would like to see our authorities recognising and treating migrants and stateless persons as human beings, this is very fundamental.

"We would not want this to lead to a control of mobility, a major crackdown and deportation. That will be an ugly sight,” she said, adding that the federal constitution guarantees that “all persons are equal before the law”.

In justifying her concerns, Fernandez said Tenaganita had in 2005 conducting a fact-finding mission in Sabah and found that there were at least 10,000 stateless children in the state.

“Following the crackdown in Sabah in 2002, a large numbers of people were arrested. We found that temporary ICs were taken away, birth certificates taken away, it was very serious.

“These stateless children, some of them left there after their parents fled, could not go back to school,” she said.

Fernandez said that the situation caused by the crackdown highlighted how deeply entrenched and reliant the people were to the Sabah state then.

“Although our authorities now say they would take into account livelihood of the people, how is that going to be done, especially since there are those who are stateless and undocumented?” she said.

Historically, Fernandez said, the government has not recognised the right to work or stay for refugees, except briefly in the 70s.

Asked to provide some suggestions, Fernandez said that the government agencies should actively consult with residents during these stages; refrain from making it a discriminatory process; ensure livelihood of the people is maintained.

“At the end of the day, everybody must benefit from the measures put in place. They must feel that we care. We cannot let anti immigrant or xenophobic feelings foster. We also must be wary of making people even more vulnerable, creating their own wall against the changes, this could even be used by those so-called Sulu terrorists,” she said.

The objectives of the newly gazetted “Preservation of Public Security Regulations 2013”, the legal basis for the setting up the establishment of ESSZONE, include ensuring “the well-being, public health and peaceful co-existence of the people in Sabah and eastern area”.

It is also supposed to resettle persons or groups occupying land or premises illegally in the 10 designated zones.

According to the regulation, the government is also empowered to run a special registration for those resettled people.

Under the regulation, the ESSZONE will have a committee chaired by the Sabah chief minister and will report to a high-powered oversight committee chaired by the prime minister.

There is also a provision which makes it a duty of any “private entity” to provide information requested by the government. Any private entity who fails to comply with a request commits an offence and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment up to six months.

The regulation also stipulates that the government must consider all aspects including the livelihood of the persons, and consult residents and their district heads before resettling people.

The government is also to provide accommodation, health and sanitation services in resettlement areas, aside from making sure there are opportunities for education and employment.

Any citizen aggrieved by the decision can challenge the government’s decision under the resettlement plan. However, the law is silent on the legal rights of non-citizens.

While the legal document does not state how will the state deal with further intrusion of foreigners, the Immigration department has said it will act as 'gatekeeper' in the ESSZONE to monitor the entry of foreign visitors, particularly Filipinos.

Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the establishment of ESSZONE.

Najib said that the move was decided on after realising that the vulnerability of several settlements to the easy entry of illegal immigrants and stateless persons, was the primary cause of the Sulu terrorist intrusion in eastern Sabah.

Similarities of the ESSZONE, which comes under Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) with the Rajang Security Command (RASCOM) of Sarawak in the 70s to fight the communist insurgency.

However, the authorities have assured people that the ESSZONE will not limit mobility with curfews which was done with RASCOM.

Recently, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman today said that ESSZONE can boost the economy of the state and would firm up the stability in the eastern area of Sabah, Sulu Sea and the East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) covering Brunei, Indonesia,Malaysia and the Philippines.

It was also announced government has approved an initial allocation of RM200 million, with more expected later, for ESSZONE. This would be used to build the initial infrastructure in the form of cabins and camps, as well as immediate procurement of assets.