Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan urged both the Sabah State government and the Federal government to take stronger action to resolve the State’s long-standing illegal immigrant issue, saying the implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCI) has been inadequate.
Its Strategic Communications Director Christopher Masudal
(pic) said the concern was highlighted following a question raised by Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau in the Dewan Rakyat regarding the status of the RCI recommendations.
Christopher said the issue has long troubled Sabahans and expressed support for Madius’ position, adding that both the Sabah and Federal governments have yet to demonstrate sufficient seriousness in implementing the RCI’s proposals.
Citing data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), he said that as of January 2026 there were approximately 1.04 million non-citizens residing in Sabah, a figure he described as raising serious questions about the State’s demographic composition.
“The key question that must be answered transparently is how many of these individuals are actually illegal immigrants,” he said in a statement.
Christopher said while enforcement agencies continue to conduct arrests and deportations, the current approach was insufficient to address allegations that hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are present in the state.
He said Sabahans are calling for systematic and periodic statewide operations with the capacity to arrest and deport tens of thousands of illegal immigrants in coordinated efforts.
Christopher added that the Sabah government under Chief Minister Hajiji Noor should press the federal government to implement such large-scale operations.
He also urged Madius to consider tabling a motion at the next Sabah State Legislative Assembly sitting calling for large-scale clean-up operations before the 16th General Election, and called on Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Mustapha Sakmud to raise the matter in the Federal Cabinet.
Christopher said failure to resolve the issue could continue to fuel demographic uncertainty and social tension in Sabah, stressing that while the findings of the RCI had already exposed the problem, what remains lacking is the political will to act.
