Crackdown on illegals in Sabah
Published on: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
By: Nora Ahmad
Jauteh at the Press conference.
Kota Kinabalu: Police will soon begin efforts to combat the presence of undocumented immigrants in Sabah.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said they have identified 538 squatter colonies around the State, the majority of which are used as settlements by undocumented immigrants.
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The time has come for us to collaborate with the other departments involved in the operation and we have begun preparing for it.
“We will launch the operation soon once all information is gathered,” he said. “A majority of the colonies are inhabited by undocumented immigrants while some have a mixture of population in them.”
He said the authorities face challenges when it comes to undocumented immigrant trafficking because there are so many avenues used for such crimes.
“There are many routes such as from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu. These are not rat trails, but rather farm trails that connect farms all the way to Kota Kinabalu.
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“It presents a challenge for us. As a result, we are requesting cooperation from farm owners to not allow public vehicles to travel across their property,” he said.
He said police intend to set up additional checkpoints after the State’s infrastructure is completed.
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Jauteh also said members of the force who are found to have violated their integrity or committed offences would not be protected.
“Appropriate action should and has been taken against officers and personnel who commit offences,” he said.
“We will not shield those who have committed crimes. Wrong means wrong. Committing crimes is a parasite in the police force,” he said, adding he did not rule out cases of integrity violations involving police officers and personnel in Sabah.
“According to last year’s statistics, the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department opened 39 investigation papers for disciplinary infractions across Sabah.
Action has been taken, including firing those punished under Rule 37,” he said, assuring he would ensure that the police force in Sabah performs its job transparently.
“As you may have noticed, there have been recent media releases regarding wrongdoing by members of the police force.
“However, we at the Sabah police force will ensure any misconduct by our officers and personnel will be dealt with through criminal investigation papers or disciplinary investigation papers,” he said.
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