KOTA KINABALU, 5 SEPT – A total of 11 individuals, including three Malaysian citizens, who were arrested after being suspected of illegally entering Philippine waters last Sunday will be flown to Manila, Philippines, tomorrow.
Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said they were sent to Manila for the documentation process, before the deportation was carried out by the Philippine authorities.
“The remaining four Malaysian citizens are still detained in the southern Philippines for the investigation of the ownership of the boat. The case of entering Philippine waters involved a boat, so the government there detained the boat and will find out who owns the boat,” he said.
He said this to reporters after the 2024 Convention to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labour, officiated by Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, today.
On Sunday, Philippine authorities arrested 15 individuals, including seven Malaysians and eight Chinese nationals, after they were suspected of entering the country’s waters illegally.
Citing a report from the Philippines News Agency (PNA), Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco, through a statement, said they were detained by the Maritime Authority, the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Army in the waters of Sitangkai, near Tawi-Tawi in the Southern Region of the country.
Meanwhile, commenting on the convention, Saifuddin said the cooperation program between the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and the Sabah government reflects the strategic synergy between the Federal Government and the state government, in an effort to deal with the issue of human trafficking and forced labor in a more effective and targeted manner.
“Through the Parent Committee on the Management of Foreigners in Sabah (JKPWAS-Induk) which is chaired by me and the Chief Minister of Sabah, several important discussions have been held in dealing with the issue of Illegal Immigrants. – Named
