Illegal immigrants causing simmering resentment in Sabah 

SABAH, Malaysia: The burgeoning population of illegal immigrants in the east Malaysian state of Sabah has been a thorn in the side of many Sabah natives. They said foreigners have taken away jobs, business opportunities and now, allegedly stealing native land.

Known as “Land Below The Wind”, Sabah has long been a safe harbour for Filipinos who came to escape poverty and unrest in southern Philippines.

Many arrived by boats in the 1970s during the Jolo civil war, and more than 80,000 were accepted as refugees and given permits to stay and work.

Today, the Filipino market along the city’s waterfront is a reminder of that past. A popular tourist attraction, the Filipino market is also a symbol of Sabah’s perennial immigrant problem.

“The problem in Philippines, fighting and fighting especially economic problems, that’s why they come here to find food and shelters,” said Roslaine, a mother of four who sells pearls at the market.

It is a family business started by her great-grandparents, who arrived from Mindanao, 40 years ago.

Now, she and her family are all Malaysian citizens.

Immigrants – both legal and illegal – contributed to Sabah’s population explosion. In 1970, Malaysia’s second largest state had just over 600,000 people. By 2010, the number had more than quadrupled to a staggering 3.2 million.

According to government statistics, foreigners account for 28 per cent of its population, but many Sabah natives believe that the number is much higher because many foreigners have assimilated into local community by adopting malay names and becoming Muslims. They can also speak the Malay language fluently.

Wilfred M. Bumburing, the member of parliament for the Tuaran district in Sabah, said: “They are already going into the fabric of our economy, they control the taxis, the buses now they are going to mini markets, displacing our people… They bring along their poverty, social problems, and culture of crime.”

The pressing concerns of Sabah natives have finally prompted Prime Minister Najib Razak to set up a royal commission of inquiry to tackle the problem, as resentment was further fuelled by suspicion that the government gave citizenship to foreign immigrants during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s term as Prime Minister, in exchange for votes to stay in power.

Under a state-funded squatter resettlement program, thousands of illegal immigrants have been moved inland to ease congestion in cities across Sabah.

The situation is criticial as foreigners were accused of encroaching into the natives land. Many Sabah natives fear that if nothing is done to stop the influx, they may one day become ethnic minorities on their own soil.