Thursday, July 24, 2008

THURSDAY 24 JULY 2008- AMNESTY WILL SAVE TAXPAYERS' MONEY: HIEW

Amnesty will save taxpayers’ money: Hiew

KOTA KINABALU:

Sabah DAP is in favour of the proposal to give another round of amnesty to the illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin on their own. The Party’s Member ofParliament here, Dr Hiew King Cheu, yesterday reckoned that the Government might consider giving the illegal immigrants between 60 and 90 days to leave. “These illegal immigrants should be given ample time to sort their things out such as applying for travel document or work permits through their employers,” he said. Hiew said the massive exercise to track down and deport these foreigners should be carried out at the end of the amnesty period. “This way the taxpayers’ money will not go to waste and even achieve a win- win situation,” he said in a statement yesterday. According to him, the number of illegal immigrants, including those who have obtained valid documents through dubious means, is as high as one million. Hiew said the existing three detention centres would not be able to accommodate the detainees if the authorities went ahead with the rounding-up exercise. “The best solution is to deport them straight away, instead of holding them for months at the expense of the taxpayers’ money. “Therefore, it is essential to plan properly on the action to be taken on rounding up the illegal immigrants in Sabah,” he added.

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