Illegal Immigrants are only Good for their Votes in Sabah

Illegal migrant workers are only good for their votes in Malaysia, or more specifically, in Sabah. This was implied by Javellana-Santos in her news piece "Sabah Migrant Workers Often Deported After Polls: Labour Leader". Read full story here: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=125136

For once, I agree with a Filipino opinion. Actually, Filipino migrant workers are also great for manual labour in Malaysia, especially in the construction industry. However, in the eyes of the power that be, this usefulness is eclipsed by the migrant workers' usefulness at the polls. To quote the trade unionist, Ambet Yuson:

"the mass repatriation of undocumented migrants in Sabah crops up when Sabah politicians don't need voters, but disappears during elections when politicians need their votes.

"They only deport the undocumented migrants in Sabah after the elections,"

The only thing I'd like to qualify in the above statement is that 'Sabah politicians' should read "Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians". As regards to the rest of the statement, many in Sabah know this to be true as this has long been an open secret. Not only the Filipino migrant workers but also the Indonesian migrant workers are good for their votes. However, most Indonesian workers are properly documented, so the problem of mass repatriation of Indonesian workers does not arise. Still, this does not erase the fact that the Indonesians are also used as voters to ensure the ruling parties hold on to power.

For years, both groups of migrant workers (Filipinos and Indonesians) have been playing their role (with monetary rewards, of course) as phantom voters and have been helping the ruling parties hold on to power by ensuring that the votes swing to their benefit in many constituencies in Sabah. In the past, bus loads of these migrant workers would be transported on polling day by the ruling power to rural constituencies where they then cast their 'already paid-for' votes. After the election, the foreigners' squatter houses (mainly, the Filipinos) are torn down and flattened by bulldozers, and they are deported only to return in two weeks' time and set up colony somewhere else.

These are the truths and the facts of the twisted democracy in Sabah. I was eye witness to one such incident in the 1999 general elections in the town of Kuala Penyu, Sabah. The locals in Kuala Penyu got wind that bus loads of foreigners are coming into town to cast their votes in a few villages nearby. The locals only managed to ambush two bus loads that made the mistake of entering the town via the river ferry which was the other means of entry into town (instead of using the the longer route via dirt road through Beaufort District). While the other buses using the dirt roads manage to escape the wrath of the locals, these two bus loads of foreigners were ambushed by locals just as their vehicles were getting off the ferry. Stories had it that many of the foreigners were beaten, some escaped by jumping into the Kuala Penyu river, while others were chased like dogs all over the town (lucky or rather unlucky for them, the town is rather tiny with only two rows of shophouses). The small town authorities had to come to the foreigners' aid to prevent the locals from beating them to death. The foreigners took refuge and were holed up in the Barisan Nasional (BN, the ruling National Coalition) Office in Kuala Penyu from mid-morning to late afternoon. Their action to take refuge in the town's BN Office only confirmed further who exactly were behind this act of betrayal to the process of democracy in Sabah. The BN office was surrounded by a huge angry crowd shouting verbal abuses and demanding the heads of the foreigners holed inside. I was part of the angry crowd that had to be held back by police called in to control the situation. In the end, two buses accompanied by police vehicles arrived to transport the foreigners out of town. Although the BN incumbent won the Kuala Penyu State constituency that election (thanks to the phantom voters), but in the next election 5 years down the road, this particular BN politician was finally send into political retirement by an independent candidate.

For years, come election time in Sabah, one hears and witnesses such acts of betrayal to democracy in Sabah by the parties concerned, driven by their insatiable craze for power. In the 12th General Elections last March 2008, it was not much different. The same dirty tactics were used by the parties concerned; this time, however, their strategy to hold on to power was strengthened by what is known as 'postal votes', the ruling parties' contingency votes, again, to help them hold on to power.

Over the years, the trend had remained the same. No deportation or repatriation of migrant workers from Sabah before election time. But once polling is over every time, then a few of the easily visible Filipino colonies are bulldozed to the ground to drive the illegals out. The illegal immigrants are repatriated to their home country only to come back in two weeks' time to rebuild their squatter colonies elsewhere. And the cycle continues.

And so the cycle continues, making it very difficult to completely rid Sabah of these illegal immigrants because the political powers that be have no political will at all to resolve the problem once and for all. How serious is the ruling government in the current mass repatriation exercise? Sabahans can only hope and pray that this time they will fulfil their promise to cleanse Sabah of these undesirable illegal immigrants. How serious is the BN government in fulfilling its promise to Sabah? Only time will tell.