KOTA KINABALU: A retired senior state civil servant has revealed that some 73,000 Filipinos fleeing civil strife in the southern region of the country were accorded refugee status in Sabah between 1976 and 1985.
Former Chief Minister's Department Settlement Unit head Abdul Jaafar Alip told the Royal Commission of Inquiry that these Filipinos were given refugee status after an interview to ensure that they fell under five criteria - they came from Region IX of the Philippines and to Sabah between 1970 and 1984; they were directly involved in the conflict there; they were Muslims and willing to stay in the state permanently.
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