Sabahans finding it tough
Published on: Sunday, April 14, 2019
By: Winnie Kasmir
SANDAKAN: Locals are finding it more challenging to get jobs as they have to compete with outsiders since almost a quarter of Sabah’s population comprises immigrants – and a majority of them don’t even have documents to remain in the State.
Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (for Law), Datuk Liew Vui Keong (pic), said the situation is a matter of concern because unemployment is increasingly becoming a big headache to the Government.
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He said according to January 2019 statistics, more than half a million people in the country are jobless.
Although he did not mention the figure for Sabah, he acknowledged the bigger challenge faced by locals is in finding employment due to the state having a huge number of immigrants.
He said based on 2018 records, almost a quarter of the population in the state was made up of immigrants and only 30 per cent of them had valid entry documents. The rest he said were classified as illegal immigrants.
He noted that according to the Immigration Department records, there are 1.2 million foreigners out of the total of 3.9 million population in the state.
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“This situation has been one of the huge challenges faced by our youths when looking for jobs.
“Sabah is flooded with foreign workers who are in various sectors to earn their livelihood,” he said during the Judicial and Legal Training Institute (ILKAP) Outreach Program 2019 held at Sandakan Sport Complex, Saturday. His speech was read by his political secretary Martin Tommy.
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Liew also noted that the employment sector populated by them is categorised under “3D” meaning difficult, dirty and dangerous which is shunned by locals.
Despite this, he said the competition for jobs between locals and the immigrant population is a real problem.
“Unknowingly, we are actually competing with foreign workers in our own country,” he added.
However, Liew assured that the authorities have been and are pursuing efforts to offset this situation to ensure that the employment opportunities are given to locals.
On the other hand, he said the government is taking efforts to put a control on the entry of foreigners to the state and country especially by enforcing the Notice of Refusal (Notis Penolakan Masuk) and ‘Not To Land ‘(NTL).
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