Filipinos in Sabah say also affected
Published on: Saturday, April 19, 2014
Kota Kinabalu: Filipinos in Sabah claim that the spate of kidnappings carried out by their Abu Sayyaf brethren here put them in a bad light and are affecting their dreams to prosper and give a better future to their children and loved ones whom they left in the Philippines.Both the Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW) as well as the undocumented condemned the kidnapping incident in Singamata Reef and Adventure Resort in Semporna early this month and urged their national government to act accordingly.Referring to the 500 million pesos (RM34 million) ransom demand in exchange for the freedom of Gao Huayun, 29 and Filipino resort worker Marcy Dayawan, 40, the Filipinos believe that the Philippine authorities had yet to be serious in their campaign to curb criminality in the Philippines particularly in Mindanao.
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"More than a dozen Filipinos have fallen victims to this kidnap-for-ransom group in southern Mindanao in the past months and Sabah is no exception," they said."The reported series of kidnap-for-ransom incidents in Semporna since 2000 have not only created serious problems to our host country but also in many ways tainted the reputation of the Filipinos who are residing and lawfully earning in the State," the concerned Filipinos said.Towards this end, Filipinos here also strongly urged the present Pnoy administration to exert serious measures to ensure the safety of the Filipinos and Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW) in Sabah who are also paying their taxes to the national government. Abdullah Hamad from Tawi-tawi said Filipinos in Sabah should continue to respect the laws of Malaysia and be appreciative for the opportunity given to earn a living extended by the host country.
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"We should be grateful to the government here and reciprocate by being law abiding visitors of the State," he added.Efren, who hails from Iloilo, called on the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to show more concern to the plight of the Filipinos in Sabah, particularly in the issuance of travel documents to undocumented workers.
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At the same time, he said " the embassy should also go down to the grass roots and extend the necessary helping hand to their countrymen instead of just issuing documents in air-conditioned rooms.The embassy staff would normally come to Sabah quietly for documentation purposesÉthe officers should closely and religiously coordinate with the local authorities and employers statewide to ensure that every undocumented Filipino will be issued with the proper travel documents," Joey said, adding that the Marcy Danawan was reportedly undocumented when she was abducted despite being here for several decades now."The Abu Sayyaf and the other kidnap-for-ransom individuals should change their mentality of nurturing the idea of 'easy money". They should work and earn a decent money instead otherwise," a concerned Filipino mother of three said."These are lazy people and destroying the image of the Filipinos world-wideÉLets help both the Philippine and Malaysian governments to put a stop to this activities," she added.Meanwhile, Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao Executive Secretary Atty Laisa Alamia said the two kidnap victims have been brought to Parang town in the province of Sulu by the Abu Sayyaf abductors.Based on the report she said two of the three abductors were identified as Alhabsi Misaya and Jakalai Bagadi, while the other one is still unidentified.She reiterated that the ARMM government is strictly imposing the no-ransom policy of the government.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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