TAWAU, March 31 — The Sabah Immigration Department (JIM) said it is in talks with the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for the deportation of the republic’s 5,911 citizens who have been detained at crowded Immigration detention depots in the state.
Its director Sharifah Sitti Saleh Habib Yussof said a meeting with the embassy’s team of counsellors has been scheduled for this Saturday.
“We are facing a problem of deporting Filipino detainees as Manila has set rules for their citizens to undergo a RT-PCR COVID-19 screening test before sending them home.
“The cost is to be borne by the Philippines, but it is understood that the allocation has not been channeled to their embassy yet.
“The detainees are prepared to be repatriated but are now faced with this issue. The issue of RT-PCR should not arise as the detainees have already received complete COVID-19 vaccination including booster doses. Furthermore, Malaysia is now entering the transition into the endemic phase and these detainees are in controlled areas with no contact with outsiders,” she said.
She said this to reporters after observing the deportation of 236 Indonesian detainees back to their country via the Port of Tawau here today
Sharifah Sitti Saleha said she had appealed to the Philippine government for some flexibility on the matter and added that JIM had also sent a letter to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur proposing that the family or detainees themselves bear the cost of the RT-PCR tesrs and flight tickets for the purpose of repatriation.
“Congestion happens at the state’s immigration detention depots when there is no deportation. If detainees or their families are willing to bear the cost of repatriation, they can be sent back immediately. They have been at the detention depots for more than a year,” she said.
Meanwhile, she said the repatriation of Indonesian detainees today involved 180 men, 40 women,11 boys and six girls.
“Thank you to the Indonesian Consulate in Tawau for their cooperation in the repatriation process,” she said, adding that a total of 312 Indonesian detainees will be sent back to their country in April.
