Latest news with #SabahImmigrationDepartment
Daily Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Express
Deportation of nationals from Sabah: Delay game by Filipino Embassy?
Published on: Friday, August 08, 2025 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. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- New Straits Times
Sabah Immigration detains 40 illegal immigrants in Kundasang
RANAU: Forty undocumented foreigners, including children, were arrested during an enforcement operation by the Sabah Immigration Department (JIM) in Kundasang. The integrated operation, which followed intelligence and public tip-offs, targeted four separate locations in the district. Eighteen officers from the Ranau District Immigration Office were involved. Sabah Immigration director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said 48 individuals were inspected, with 40 detained for various immigration offences. "Of those detained, 26 were men, six women, seven boys, and one girl, all of whom were either Indonesian or Filipino nationals." "All those detained did not possess valid travel documents or passes," she said in a press statement. The case is being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, as well as Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963. Sitti Saleha said the department would intensify operations in identified hotspots frequented by undocumented foreigners. She also said that stern action would be taken against those who abet such activities, including harbouring or employing illegal immigrants.
Daily Express
31-07-2025
- Daily Express
Eleven Pakistanis held in Semporna immigration raid
Published on: Thursday, July 31, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jul 31, 2025 By: Azmie Lim Text Size: Some of the detainees. SEMPORNA: The Sabah Immigration Department detained 11 Pakistani men during an enforcement operation in Semporna on Wednesday night. The operation, codenamed Ops Sapu, was conducted from 11pm to 3am by the district's Immigration Enforcement Unit with the support of 12 personnel. Sabah Immigration Director Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the action followed departmental intelligence and public tip-offs. Of 13 individuals inspected, 11 were arrested under the Immigration Act for lacking valid travel documents or overstaying their permitted duration. All detainees were brought to the Tawau Immigration Depot, and the department reaffirmed its commitment to regular enforcement and urged the public to report suspected undocumented migrants. * 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. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Borneo Post
30-07-2025
- Borneo Post
141 illegal immigrants detained in Keningau
The illegal immigrants detained by immigration officers during the operation in Keningau. KOTA KINABALU (July 30): One hundred and forty-one illegal immigrants were detained by the State Immigration Department in two seperate raids in Keningau on Tuesday. Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said two illegal squatters were targeted in the operations following a one-month surveillance by enforcement teams. The 12.30am operations saw the detention of 117 Filipino illegal immigrants – 10 men, 38 women, 38 boys and 31 girls, and 24 Indonesian illegal immigrants – 16 men, six women and two girls. The illegal immigrants had committed immigration offenses under Section 15(1)(c) and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, and will be placed at the Papar Immigration Deportation Centre for further action. Sitti Saleha the department will continue to take strict action against any party found committing offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, Immigration Regulations 1963 and the Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM). Strict action will also be taken against any party that employs and protects illegal immigrants, she said.
The Star
30-07-2025
- The Star
Sabah Immigration Dept nabs 141 during major raid in Keningau
Some of the illegal immigrants being checked by Immigration officers during a raid in Sabah's interior Keningau. KOTA KINABALU: A total of 141 illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia were detained during a major operation by the Immigration Department in Sabah's interior Keningau district. Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof reported that 216 people were checked during the operation, with 141 foreigners detained on suspicion of committing various immigration offences. Those detained include 10 men, 38 women, 38 boys, and 31 girls from the Philippines, as well as 16 men, six adult women, and two girls from Indonesia. Sitti Saleha stated that all those arrested were sent to the Papar Immigration Detention Depot for investigation and further action under various offences of the Immigration Act 1959/63. Illegal immigrants being detainedby Immigration officers following a raid in illegal settlements in Keningau. In a statement on Wednesday (Jan 30), she noted that the predawn operations on Tuesday (Jan 29) were carried out following public complaints and intelligence gathered over a month against two specific migrant settlements in the interior district. Some 84 immigration enforcement officers from Keningau, Tenom, Ranau, Sipitang, and Kota Kinabalu conducted the raid with the assistance of RELA personnel in Keningau. The raid took place from 12.30am to 4am on Tuesday. Sitti Saleha affirmed that her department will continue to take firm action against anyone found to have committed offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, the Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM). "We will also act against those harbouring or employing illegal immigrants," she added.
