KOTA KINABALU: Sabah decided to put on hold the federal Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) Act 2024 to uphold and protect its immigration autonomy rights, says Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai (pic).
He said the Act is under the federal jurisdiction, and when the federal government announced its implementation, the state government decided to express its stance on the Act in Sabah so that it will not erode Sabah’s immigration autonomy.
“Sabah wishes to stress that its immigration powers are non-negotiable as it is stipulated under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said during the State Legislative Assembly sitting question and answer session yesterday.
Bangkuai said the state stressed its stance on this matter by handing an official letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim informing that the state Immigration Department will remain as the agency which controls the entry points to Sabah, and that the issuance of the Not-To-Land (NTL) notice remains under the state agency.
“The state government wishes to stress that guarantees on Sabah’s constitutional safeguards must always be preserved, and there should be no erosion of special rights and immigration autonomy rights as well as state authorities,” he said.
Tamparuli assemblyman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau had asked whether the federal government had sought consent from the state before drafting, tabling and passing laws that affected Sabah’s rights.
He said that many such laws were made without Sabah’s consent, to which the State Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya asked that Tamparuli retract his statement, as it is a ‘sweeping statement’, and that it is ‘not good’.
He also said that Madius is not able to prove that what was done was done in bad faith.
Madius said he can list out many laws and amendments which were made without consent from the state, and wanted to know if the AKPS was also done without Sabah’s consent.
Bangkuai said regardless of whether consent was sought, at the end of the day, it comes down to how Sabah will defend its state rights.
“In the AKPS context, this is proof that Sabah will defend against whatever breaches, if any. Thank you for supporting that this decision (to put the Act on hold) is a right decision,” he said.
