KOTA KINABALU: A clear and full explanation must be given on how the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency Act 2024 will affect Sabah's Immigration autonomy, says state Opposition leader Chin Tek Ming.
The Kapayan assemblyman said while the federal mechanism is to coordinate national border control functions involving immigration, customs, quarantine, security and border enforcement, the question is if Sabah will gradually lose its powers.
He said in principle, coordinated border enforcement may sound positive but the bigger question is if this will eventually lead to the centralisation of federal powers over areas where Sabah has long enjoyed special constitutional safeguards.
Chin said Sabah possesses a special constitutional position in matters relating to immigration and entry control that are not political privileges granted out of goodwill but rather constitutional protections established during the formation of Malaysia.
This comes after concerns raised by the Sabah Immigration Officers Service Union (KPPIS) regarding the implementation of the AKPS.
He said these concerns cannot be taken lightly or swept under the carpet as they are at the frontline of Sabah's border enforcement and understand the operational realities on the ground better than anyone else.
He said Sabah has long faced illegal immigrant issues, cross-border smuggling, document forgery and security pressures in border areas such as Sebatik Island and at the same time, has a history of gradually losing powers to the federal government.
"This is not merely theoretical. During the formation of Malaysia in 1963, several Sabah ordinances which originally fell under Sabah's jurisdiction were subsequently taken over and federalised, including the Excise Ordinance 1959 (No.18 of 1959) and the Petroleum Ordinance 1960 (No.21 of 1960)," he said.
"The state government cannot remain silent. It must publicly explain the true implications of the Act on Sabah's immigration powers and obtain clear legal clarification regarding the boundaries between state and federal powers," he said.
