KOTA KINABALU: When Immigration officers raided an undocumented migrant den in Tawau district recently, a fearful mother of six managed to beg a local family to care for her two-month-old baby, out of compassion.
The baby girl, known fondly as Ria, was born in Sabah on May 29, and does not have any follow-up medical records due to her family’s lack of documents.
She was forced to be abandoned by her family as they were hauled up for detention when they failed to produce identification documents to Immigration officials.
During a routine visit to villagers in Merotai recently, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah president Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah saw this baby and heard about how she came to be under the care of the local family.
Initially, the objective was to hand over some assistance for the care of the baby to this family, he said, before he found out how she was handed over to them.
“Out of pity and just pure humanitarian grounds, I wish to help the baby get her vaccination shots and undergo health checks, like how we citizens are required to upon birth,” he said.
Liew will pay for the vaccination and medical bills while waiting for other updates or course of action from state authorities pertaining to this case, as the baby’s family was now under Immigration detention.
“I understand that the rule of law must be upheld, and while the process to uphold these laws is ongoing, I just want to make sure that this infant gets the needed scheduled vaccination and medical attention first,” he said.
He said he hoped there would be a balance between humanity and the enforcement of laws.
Sabah’s undocumented people problem remains unsolved, and there are often conflicts when it comes to humanity and the enforcement of laws.
Many of those who are sent back to what the authorities think are their nations of origin, would illegally return to Sabah because they do not have any more families outside this country.
Many of them are already third generation immigrants, and due to complications in the immigration laws and complexity of the matter involving nations around this region, continue to live in fear without basic healthcare, education and job opportunities.
