An organization is urging the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to hasten the issuance of special travel deportation documents to its nationals at the various detentions depots in Sabah.
This to address the decongestion problem in depots especially now that the Malaysian Immigration Department and the police are intensifying their operations against illegal immigrants, as per a report from Daily Express.
Datu Ismail Datu Hiya, the president of Concerned Filipino Professionals Sabah (CFPS), said that with this situation the Philippine Embassy should double its efforts to expedite issuance of special travel deportation documents.
According to Ismail, there are few Filipino deportees who remain in detention for several months in Sabah.
There are even deportees remained at the detention cell for a year because their embassy delayed the issuance of their respective travel documents.
Ismail said that speeding up the issuance will also help avoid prolonging detainees’ agony inside the centers and also help save expenses in management of the respective centers.
“Issuance of travel documents to deportees by consular staff should be speeded up and done every month without fail. Representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of the embassy should also accompany the consular mission team when visiting all four detention centres in Sabah. At the same time, they should also rectify their shortcomings,” said Ismail.
