Speed up travel documents for detainees, Indonesian embassy urged
TAWAU : The Indonesian embassy has been urged to expedite the issuance of travel documents in lieu of passports (SPLP) for 969 of its nationals currently detained at immigration depots in Sabah.
Sabah immigration director Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said this was to facilitate their immediate repatriation.
She said the cooperation of the relevant authorities was needed so that the detainees could return to their home country and resume their normal lives.
'The last transfer was in March. Imagine, these people have now been detained at immigration depots for three to four months. Without the SPLP, their detention will be prolonged. The same goes for Filipino nationals, who also require travel documents before they can be repatriated.
'This is the procedure; when detainees held at immigration depots want to be repatriated to their home countries, an SPLP (for Indonesians) or a valid travel document (for Filipinos) from the embassy or consulate is required,' she said.
She was speaking to reporters during an inspection of the repatriation of 108 Indonesian undocumented migrants aged between 18 and 65 at the Tawau Ferry Terminal today.
Meanwhile, she said authorities detained 11 Pakistani men during a raid on a house in Semporna early this morning after they failed to produce valid personal documents.
'Of the total, two claimed to have documents under spousal guarantee with Malaysian citizens, and another had a temporary employment visit pass but was supposed to be in Kota Kinabalu,' she added.
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