Malaysia, Filipina bincang segera pulang pendatang tanpa izin di Sabah

Malaysia and the Philippines are discussing measures to expedite the repatriation of over 5,000 unauthorized Filipino migrants residing in four detention centers in Sabah, Malaysia. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated that the Filipino Embassy's screening in Kuala Lumpur has identified more than 1,000 individuals among the total who can be repatriated.

"So, we discussed how to expedite the repatriation of unauthorized Filipino migrants by Malaysia via sea or any other means," he said after the 9th Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) between Malaysia and the Philippines at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs today. Hasan added that Malaysia hopes for prompt action from the Filipino government to repatriate these detainees to their home country, while the continued screening of the next batch will be ongoing.

Additionally, both nations discussed the issue of Filipino children's education in Sabah, with Malaysia agreeing to consider setting up a learning class to allow them to continue their education before repatriation. However, he emphasized that any educational assistance should be managed by the Filipino government to ensure proper oversight.

As for the issue of Sabah's claims raised by certain parties in the Philippines, Hasan stated that it was not directly addressed during the JCM, but urged the nation to respect international law and the UN's recognition of Sabah as part of Malaysia. "Sabah has been recognized by the United Nations (UN) as part of Malaysia, so there is no issue for them to say Sabah is not part of Malaysia," he said.

Earlier, Hasan chaired the JCM together with Philippine Deputy Foreign Secretary Ma Theresa P Lazaro.