How should stateless persons in Sabah, Malaysia be "handled"?

"These 'outsiders', drive them back to their 'homeland', our land!"

Very extreme and déjà vu remarks, right?

The above seems to be the rhetoric of the Malay right-wing community in the country towards aliens, emphasizing that "we" are the masters of this land and keep others out. In fact, in Sabah, regardless of religious groups, many Sabahans had such thoughts and ideas.

However, the target of condemnation is not Chinese Indians, but stateless persons, or "illegal immigrants" as they are commonly known. In Sabah, many people refer to them as "Pilak", or "Philippine bugs".

Giving slurs to "alien" seems to be a common low-level practice among Malaysians. Addressing each other (privately) by their appearance or cultural characteristics is extremely disrespectful and lacks civility, especially for an unfamiliar ethnic group who is reluctant to take the time to understand each other.

Many of their ancestors came from the southern Philippines or Indonesia, or lived in the waters between Sabah and the Philippines, but they did not belong to the Orang Bajau, the "ocean nomads" of any country. In Sabah, these "stateless persons" do not have identity cards, but they make up about a quarter of Sabah's population, most of whom follow Islam and live in coastal cities.

The point is, they don't have the right to education, nor the basic right to work legally. Therefore, the living standard and knowledge level are low, and it is impossible to get out of the predicament for a long time, and even a vicious circle from generation to generation.

Taking the urban area of Kota Kinabalu as an example, many stateless people will be seen begging on the roadside, making loud noises, selling smuggled alcohol and tobacco, and even openly smoking super glue. For the citizens, they are the initiators of destroying the city's appearance and destroying the image of Sabah. In addition to disgust, "disrespect" and stay away. Most Sabahans, regardless of their race, do not regard them as "our own people", but regard their existence as a responsibility that needs to be dealt with by politicians or the government.

In fact, for politicians, they are only a bargaining chip in the political arena. Because once any political party helps them, it is an act of political suicide in Sabah.

║ Sabah stateless people whom I have discriminated against║

Before studying abroad, I had always had a very disgusting perception of stateless people (I used to call them "Philippine bugs").

In middle school, unfortunately, they were robbed twice. The tragic scene of being threatened by a knife on the chest at the moment is still vivid in my mind. This made me hate them so much for a long time and deliberately humiliate them for a long time.

It wasn't until I went abroad to study that I learned a little about the subject of international refugees or stateless children before I started to care about their situation. Among them, the context of the international refugee issue is complex, involving human rights, security, political and legal issues, and it is not only happening in Malaysia. Whether it is the Rohingya in Myanmar or the Turkish refugees in Germany, they have brought about dramatic changes in the local population structure and social contradictions, and there is no perfect and effective solution.

Unfortunately, Sabah needs to face this issue.

║ So, where should they go? ║

Many people misunderstand that their "homeland" is the Philippines, but it's not. Many stateless children are already second and third generation born in Sabah. Some of their families are nomads, or their families are born of natives and stateless people.

Now that they are all homeless, what does this land give them?

In the face of Chinese people's ridicule that "Sabah is dangerous" and "Sabah is about to become a smaller Philippines", coupled with the rise of Sabah localism and populism, it is even more difficult to deal with the issue of stateless persons. Political theorist Hannah Oran believes that stateless people face three losses, including the loss of asylum, the loss of government protection, and the loss of political society's mutual recognition.

In Sabah, the issue of "stateless persons" is generally not accepted by locals, especially the non-Muslim indigenous people in the interior. Between 1970 and 2000, the Muslim population in Sabah soared by 1522%. Under the Berjaya government in Sabah in the 1970s and 1980s, it implemented a series of Islamization policies, and some indigenous Sabahans who believed in other religions (such as Kadazan, Dushun, Mauru, etc.) began to convert to Islam. In the 1990s, after former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad deployed Umno to cross Sabah and implemented the "Project IC", the Muslim population grew substantially, rewriting Sabah's demographic structure and shaking the political dominance of Kadazan people.

Therefore, the issue of stateless people has become a headache for local political parties for a long time: (1) turning a blind eye, the local social problems of stateless people are gradually serious; (2) helping them, such as providing education or job opportunities, but In this way, the political party is very likely to lose the election/cross-office due to the loss of public opinion.

║ What can we do besides relying on the government? ║

I firmly believe that through education, job opportunities, their living conditions and social issues in Sabah will be improved.

At present, there are many NGOs in Sabah that are assisting the education and life of stateless children, such as: Sekolah Alternative Sabah (Sabah Alternative School), Persatuan Harmoni Mesra (Friendship Association) or Tzu Chi, etc., all of which have been helping stateless people in Sabah for a long time. Groups are also units that everyone can follow and support. In the future, it is also hoped that these educated stateless persons can legally find jobs in Sabah and solve their livelihood problems.

Still, this requires more help. Whether it's a donation or a call to respond to voluntary action in support of NGOs, or to stop stigmatizing them (calling them "Pilak", "Philippines", etc.), this is the first step that our people can take.

Populism, which intensifies contradictions by ignorance, often holds unrealistic, extreme and unproductive propositions. The only way to deal with society, hometown and the disadvantaged in society is to discuss politics rationally and think about the moderation and effective solutions.

(This article was published in "Malaysian Youth")

Drawing: Zhang Ruichun