Aliens

There have been numerous estimates of the number of foreigners living amongst us in Sabah. Some of them, presumably relatively few of them, are here legally. The vast majority of them have probably been here for ages—illegally. The estimates vary widely from several thousands (probably these numbers originated from Government officials) to several hundred thousand people.

Whatever the actual number is, I think it is quite safe to assume that many Sabahans are convinced that it's just a matter of time that these aliens will outnumber us citizens. Generally speaking they multiply in numbers at a much faster rate than Sabahans.

The Government had repeatedly pledged to rid Sabah of these aliens since decades ago, most notably prior to the general elections. But of course it would all come to nothing in the end. The eastern towns of Tawau, for example, is practically controlled by the Bugis. They actually have Malaysian ICs—they are "citizens". Just stop any mini-bus in the street and chances are it's a Bugin man who owns that bus. They control many other businesses too.

In KK, things haven't been that bad. We've had a 14-year old boy stabbed to death in broad daylight near the central market by 2 Filipinos because he refused to give them RM1. Many people saw what happened but were afraid to help. In another case, a woman was stabbed to death near SEDCO because the man wanted her handbag so much. Her young teenage daughter who tried to block those stabs to protect her mother got several fingers severed, but she survived. She went through many hours of surgery to reattach her fingers.

More recently, 2 officers from the KK City Hall were beaten up—again in broad daylight—by foreigners because they consficated smuggled cigarettes from a 21-year old woman [Daily Express].

This whole thing about the Government going all out to flush out these aliens is just a big joke. We have heard that story too many times in the past, and it's really getting boring to hear the same story again. When I think of my 6-year old JJ, I just can't imagine what kind of Sabah she will have when she gets to my age. It all seems so hopeless.

But on the other hand, sometimes the authority can become very, very "efficient" too. They carried out their job so well that they could put a Malaysian citizen into prison for almost a year because they mistakenly thought she's an illegal. She would have probably been in prison for a much longer time but for the coincidental opportunity of someone to alert a VIP about her [The Star].

She was finally rescued and now a free woman again. She said she wanted to put the nightmare behind and start afresh with her baby. I think what she should do is to find a lawyer, perhaps a pro bono case, to sue these people for the mistake. And yes, sue the Government too. She's not likely to win, of course (what d'you expect, this is Malaysia!), but at least there is a good chance that these people will be very, very careful the next time they do their job.