'Local bosses risk being penalised'

Kota Kinabalu: Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri urged the Sabah Government to look into the problems faced by local employers relying on foreign workers to sustain their business operations.Those legally employing Filipino workers in the construction, manufacturing , industrial, and other sectors including domestic helpers claim they are facing delays in renewing work permits of workers due to some handicap on the part of the Philippine Embassy Office in Kuala Lumpur ," they said.

PKAN treasurer Thomas Tsen (Kudat) Roger Chong (Tanjung Aru), and Terence Tsen (Inanam) fear that any delay or failure renew permits of foreign workers will risk local employers being arrested, fined or even jailed for harbouring illegal immigrants.

"Sabah employers are contributing to the economy of the state and, therefore, deserve attention or help from the government," the trio stressed.

In fact, they said government intervention is required to convince the Embassy to avoid unnecessary delays in processing of new or renewal of travel documents of their countrymen legally in Sabah.

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Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year.

" The State Government should request the Embassy to expedite the processing of renewal of passport and other documentation from Filipinos in Sabah. Our local authorities must highlight the fact Filipino foreign workers in Sabah must renew their expired passports to get the necessary work pass in order to remain working in the state," they said.

There is also a need for the embassy to ensure that all their registered recruitment/employment agents operating in Sabah do not impose exorbitant service charges to their countrymen and clients as well as ensure no "fixers" or "runners" during every consular mission organised in the state.

"Many recruitment/employment agents in Sabah are charging very high service charge rates to applicants and this should stop.

PAN President Datuk Hendrynus Amin also urged the State Government to convince the Philippine Government to set up permanent consular office in Sabah to facilitate the renewals of passport for their citizens and other consular services.

"Or alternatively the Philippine should at least increase the strength of their visiting consular staff to meet the needs of thousands of Filipinos whose travel documents are nearing the expiration date," he said.

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Given the ongoing crackdown on illegal immigrants here on the eve of 14th General Election, Hendrynus said these Filipinos are vulnerable and face the risk of being arrested and deported if their respected passports were not updated.

"If these foreign workers will be deported as a result of the poor consular services provided by their own embassy, then, surely local employers will be badly affected so as our economy," he stressed. - Nikko Fabian

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