KOTA KINABALU: The state and federal governments have set up a joint committee to look into Sabah's long-standing issue surrounding statelessness and undocumented migrants.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Nasution Ismail said that the issue could no longer something that can be swept under the rug and must be addressed head-on.
“This issue is something everyone in Sabah knows. Let us not deny it. It is a real and pressing problem,” he said.
The joint committee known as the Foreign Nationals Management Committee - co-chaired by Saifuddin and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor - would meet twice a year and be tasked to oversee a major data-gathering initiative aimed at understanding the true scale of the problem.
Led by the Chief Minister’s Department, a state-wide census is being carried out using the latest biometric and digital tools, including thumbprint and facial recognition technologies, to register undocumented individuals and those without citizenship status.
“So far, over 107,000 to 108,000 individuals have been recorded, and the number continues to rise. This is a necessary step. We cannot work with assumptions.
“Once we have credible data, only then can we plan and implement meaningful solutions,” Saifuddin told reporters during the security briefing and engagement with international delegates on Saturday (July 5).
He said that many of the affected individuals, including children, were born in Sabah to foreign parents who entered Malaysia through irregular means or overstayed their permits.
These children, although born on Malaysian soil, remain unrecognised by any country, leaving them stateless and without access to basic rights.
“They were born here, they live here, and yet they cannot return to any other country; this is their only home,” he said.
While there is currently no set deadline for completing the data collection, Saifuddin said the aim was to finalise it “in the near future”, adding that the matter requires sustained attention and commitment from both state and federal authorities.
“For too long, this issue has been politically sensitive and conveniently avoided. But that cannot continue. We need to face it, understand it, and find a way forward, for the sake of national governance and human dignity,” he said.
Stateless individuals in Sabah face multiple hardships, including being denied access to public education, healthcare, and formal employment.
Many live in overcrowded settlements, including water villages, with limited protection and opportunity, making them vulnerable to exploitation and poverty.
The joint committee’s work is viewed as a long-overdue step toward finding long-term, systemic solutions to one of Sabah’s most persistent humanitarian challenges.
