KOTA KINABALU: Sabahans have a role to play in ensuring the security of the state by not renting houses or land to illegal immigrants, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.
He said that the people of Sabah should not give space or provide opportunity for illegal immigrants to reside in Sabah, and stressed that employers should not hire immigrants.
“Instead of taking the risk and hiring immigrants, employers should focus on training locals to fit the job. The mindset of Sabahans must also change, when taking up a job, instead of thinking that the job requires them to work long hours, think of it as a contribution to Sabah,” he said yesterday when commenting on the issue of illegal immigrants being the reason for recent kidnapping incidents in the east coast of Sabah.
When asked on the frequent kidnapping cases, Masidi said that although he was disappointed, he was also very optimistic that the problem would be solved soon.
“We should see this as a challenge. As for the tourism sector, we are switching to a different strategy, we will focus more on aggressive campaigns in countries other than China. Lesson learnt from this is never put all eggs into one basket,” he said.
He stated that the countries in focus now are Indonesia, South Korea and Europe.
Commenting on the relationship between China and Sabah, Masidi said that tourists from China are still coming in, but less from those through travel agents. Most of the tourists from China are travellers who came on their own.
“We also have continuous contact with the government of China to share information, updates and news on the kidnapping incidents. They feel that the Sabah State Government is very responsible and have tried our best to rescue the hostages. They are also very understanding with our problems and difficulties faced,” he said.
Masidi also said that the business relationship and ties between companies of China and Sabah were not affected.
He announced that the consulate office for the Consulate General of China will be built here by end of this year, and he said that it proves the confidence China has in Sabah.