Deportation of nationals from Sabah: Delay game by Filipino Embassy?
Published on: Fri, Aug 08, 2025
By: Nikko Fabian Text Size: Some of the Filipino deportees at the detention depot. (File pic) Kota Kinabalu: Filipino nationals in Sabah, including relatives of deportees criticised the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for the persistent delay and/or reluctance to issue Temporary Travel Documents (TTDs), thus causing significant backlogs in deportation of Filipino illegals.
Advertisement Their concerns echo a recent plea from the Sabah Immigration Department Director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof, who urged the embassy to expedite the process. Saleha highlighted that these delays leave detainees in Sabah immigration depots for up to four months awaiting repatriation due to a lack of valid travel papers. She issued a direct appeal for faster processing to allow detainees to return home. Last week, the regular ferry bringing Filipinos to Sandakan was stopped from allowing the disembarking of passengers and forced to return to Zamboanga. It is understand that it was due to the high number of Filipinos detained at the various depots at tax payers' expense.
Advertisement A group advocating for undocumented Filipinos in Sabah condemned the embassy's repeated failures to promptly issue TTDs, citing this as a decades-long problem resulting in human rights violations and unnecessary complications for Malaysia. They attributed the delays to persistent excuses of manpower shortages and insufficient budget. The embassy's current practice involves consular teams visiting Sabah every few months for interviews and document processing, a process that takes 1-2 weeks. The actual TTD preparation happens at the Kuala Lumpur headquarters before being sent to the Sabah Immigration Department for deportation facilitation, particularly for the Sandakan-Zamboanga route. Frustration is mounting among relatives of deportees who accuse the embassy of unfair treatment and demand accountability, noting that embassy personnel are paid with Filipino taxpayer money. 'We are not happy with the performance of the embassy consular team in Sabah,' the relatives stressed. The Filipino community in Sabah is now calling on Philippine Ambassador Maria Angela Ponce to visit Sabah, engage in dialogue with the community, and directly address their concerns. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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