SANDAKAN: Information obtained from the survey carried out in four water settlements by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) can help the government in identifying a suitable approach to assist Malaysian nationals residing in the area.
Elopura State Assemblyman Au Kam Wah said detailed information would be obtained from the survey to enable the government in identifying subsequent measures.
For example, he said, such information was useful if the government wished to implement a programme to resettle Malaysian nationals if the squatter houses in the areas were to be demolished.
“The government can determine the number of houses needed through the Public Housing Programme for Malaysian residents if the operation to demolish the squatter houses in the four settlements is carried out," he told reporters after attending the Esscom Meeting with community leaders in the four water settlements, here Wednesday.
The four settlements are Mangkalinau, Cahaya Baru, Muhibbah and Forest with the meeting chaired by Esscom Director-General Datuk Mohammad Mentek.
Esscom had stipulated that the survey in the four water settlements be carried out from Feb 15 to 17.
Au said that the survey carried out by Esscom could also assist government efforts in achieving the Zero Squatter objective by the year 2020.
Mohammad said the survey aimed to find out the number of houses, residents, families, the demographic breakdown between nationals and non-nationals by identifying the types of documents that they had.
“The survey does not involve enforcement and arrests although the Integrated Operation is being carried out currently.
“The police and military personnel participating in the operation is to ensure that the security situation is under control, particularly the security of the people carrying out the survey,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting with community leaders in the villages involved, here today.
Also present were Au, the Director of the Defence Intelligence Division Maj Gen Datuk Mohd Noor Osman, and the Director of the Management and Public Service Division, Rahim Isyak.
Mohammad said an estimated 160 Sandakan residents would carry out the survey to facilitate communication with the residents of the water settlements concerned.
He said that based on statistics from the survey carried out by the Sandakan Municipal Council in the four water settlements concerned, there were 3,164 houses in the area of which 1,688 were occupied by Malaysian nationals while 1,476 were occupied by non-citizens who possessed the necessary documents.
He said the total population was 12,501 and the figure was believed to be increasing between 20 and 30 per cent.
He said that all the residents in the four water settlements were asked to provide their documents when the survey was being carried out. - Bernama
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