Call to check Sabah’s population increase

INANAM: Sepanggar MP Datuk Eric Majimbun has called on the government to conduct a thorough check on the overwhelming increase in Sabah’s population.

“According to the Statistics Department, the population was 636,431 in 1970 but the figure went up to 2,449,389 in 2000.

“It was a 285 percent increase,” he said, adding that it was more than triple compared to Sarawak where its population was 976,269 in 1970 and 2,012,616 in 2000.

Eric felt that this problem may have been due to the move to incorporate the Sabah Registration of Births and Deaths Ordinance 1953 (Late Registration Cap. 123) into the federal legislation.

Under the Sabah Ordinance, he said all late registrations had to go through the court.

“On behalf of the people of Sabah, I call on the government and the National Registration Department (NRD) to check whether Cap. 123 of the Ordinance is still applicable to Sabah.”

Eric claimed that the big increase in Sabah’s population was contributed by the influx of illegal immigrants who had managed to obtain the Malaysian Mykad.

He cited a case where a man by the name of Jerom Majimbon held a Mykad bearing the number 560903-12-5739 (H0540992).

“His surname is almost identical to my father’s name and he hails from Kg Pomotodon, Inanam, which is the same village where I was born,” he said, adding that they don’t have a sibling by that name and living in the same village.

Eric said he had written to the ministry concerned on the matter and that a copy of his letter was also forwarded to the Bukit Aman Police headquarters.

He also said the problem would not have happened if the leaders had carried out their responsibilities.

“There is a need for the government to set up a monitoring system to check on population increase. We have to look into this,” he added.

The SAPP, he said, had set up a bureau on illegal immigrants and IC chaired by him to help look into the issue.

“We will gather information and analyse what should be done and make our findings known to the government,” he said.