Be realistic and practical instead of instant fixes on illegal immigrants

The average Malaysian today does not read and this phenomenon extends from the people in the street to captains of industry. But most important of all, the majority of our leaders on both sides of the political divide also do not read – they are the “headliners” which means they only read headlines.

If the headlines capture their interest only then will they make an attempt to read the details. These leaders with their “instant fix mentality” do not think about the consequences or the impact of their actions on the masses, the future or to themselves – they just come up with one-liner solutions and say the magic word “Shazam” – poof – problem solved.

Take for example, the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah. The solution offered by Madius Tangau, acting president of UPKO was to call in United States expertise.

Why? Has the US successfully resolved their border issues? Writing an article about the immigrant issues in Sabah does not qualify one as being an expert on the issue or having ready-made solutions for it.
Does this naïve MP think that after writing a couple of “ground-breaking” books on “paper citizens”, that the writer has the necessary experience to understand the problem?

The “expert” may have written about conventional procedures and a bit on the legal framework but this is insufficient to deal with the present problem in Sabah – again the stupidity of our MP in offering an “instant fix” without really understanding what was involved and what the long-term impact of these decisions was.

Malaysians have long discarded their prudent mentality – the people want instant gratification and our political leaders are happy offering them instant fixes – much like the complementary lifestyle between a drug pusher and an addict.

So where have all the Malaysian thinkers and practitioners gone? If they are not enjoying a better life outside Malaysia, these people must be brought out to help resolve our national problems.

In the case of illegal immigrants in Sabah, only long-serving judges have the knowledge, expertise and experience to “arrest and deport” the illegals.

These judges deal with real problems like this almost every day. One such judge who has been deporting immigrants for 25 years in Sabah is now a High Court judge in Selangor and all capital punishment in that state has to go under her gavel. Why is she in Selangor when her services are greatly needed in Sabah?

It is time that Sabah call upon its sons and daughters to serve their country. No son and daughter of Sabah, especially Nurchaya Haji Arshad, Judge of the High Court in Malaya/Sabah and Sarawak will refuse this call.

Compare these people to Pairin Kitingan who has never “arrested and deported” a single illegal immigrant or Madius Tangau who has yet to show his foresightedness and credibility as a leader, and you have the answer right before your eyes.

We in Sabah must be realistic and practical; it is not about scoring political mileage as this illegal immigrant issue goes beyond politics.

Therefore, we have to be sincere and honest in choosing the right people for the right job. This is because there is no way a square peg can be put into a round hole – short of breaking both.

Comment by Zainnal Ajamain (An economist by profession, graduating with a Masters degree from the University of East Anglia)