Daniel John Jambun, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) takes serious note of the proposal by the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) urging the Government to relax MyKas application requirements for stateless persons in Sabah.
We state clearly:
Sabah has had enough.
Enough of unresolved immigration controversies.
Enough of identity management failures.
Enough of demographic uncertainty.
Enough of policies introduced without restoring public confidence.
1. SABAH IS STILL LIVING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF PAST FAILURES
Sabah’s immigration and documentation problems did not emerge overnight.
For decades, Sabah has faced:
allegations of Project IC,
irregular documentation controversies,
identity manipulation claims,
demographic anxieties,
and institutional failures acknowledged by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah 2013.
More than a decade later, Sabahans still do not see meaningful closure.
Public confidence remains severely damaged.
This is precisely why any proposal involving the relaxation of identity-related requirements will trigger serious concern among Sabahans.
2. THE RCI ISSUE IS NOW BEFORE THE COURTS
BoPiMaFo reminds the Government that the continued failure to meaningfully address the Sabah illegal immigrant issue is no longer merely a political debate.
The matter is now before the courts.
A Judicial Review application concerning the implementation and handling of the RCI findings and recommendations has already been filed in the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak.
The case exists because Sabahans believe the longstanding failures surrounding immigration governance, identity management, and administrative accountability can no longer simply be ignored.
Against this background, proposals to “relax” identity-related procedures will understandably alarm the public.
3. HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS CANNOT OVERRIDE LEGAL VERIFICATION
BoPiMaFo recognises that there may be genuinely stateless individuals born and raised in Sabah who deserve humane treatment and lawful recognition.
However, humanitarian language cannot replace strict legal scrutiny.
The fundamental question remains:
How will the Government distinguish between:
genuinely stateless individuals,
undocumented migrants,
irregular entrants,
and persons linked to historical documentation controversies?
Sabahans deserve clear answers — not vague assurances.
4. “RELAXING RULES” WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS RISKS REPEATING HISTORY
Sabahans are deeply concerned because history has already shown the consequences of weak identity governance.
Any relaxation policy without:
strict biometric verification,
historical records auditing,
inter-agency scrutiny,
transparent review procedures,
independent oversight,
and legal accountability
risks reopening the very crisis Sabah has struggled with for decades.
In Sabah, identity documentation is not a minor administrative matter.
It directly affects:
citizenship integrity,
electoral legitimacy,
indigenous representation,
constitutional safeguards under MA63,
and long-term public trust.
5. SABAH MUST NOT CONTINUE PAYING THE PRICE FOR FEDERAL FAILURES
Sabah has already borne enormous social, economic, political, and institutional consequences arising from immigration mismanagement.
The people of Sabah cannot be expected to quietly accept yet another policy that risks repeating old mistakes under new terminology.
Let us be absolutely clear:
Sabahans are not rejecting humanity.
Sabahans are demanding responsibility.
Any policy involving MyKas or statelessness in Sabah must be:
lawful,
transparent,
independently monitored,
constitutionally sensitive,
and capable of restoring public confidence.
Anything less will only deepen distrust and reopen historical wounds that Sabah has still not fully healed from.
