KOTA KINABALU: Twenty-one non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have taken the initiative to work together to assist the state government in resolving issues of stateless people in Sabah.
Its protem committee chairman Datuk Nani Sakam said all NGOs had agreed to unite and work towards being the bridge between the undocumented citizens and relevant state agencies.
“The issue of stateless people is a very big problem as there are still many (genuine) Sabahans who have no documents. These people are mostly in rural areas.
“Our role is to propose recommendations to the state government because these NGOS are the ones who are familiar with what is happening on the ground,” he told reporters after the two-day workshop on Dealing with the Sabah Documentation here.
The workshop, organised by Human Resources Development for Rural Areas (DHRRA), ended today.
Nani said they had come up with at least five recommendations to be brought to the state government’s attention.
“However, this is still an early stage and we have yet to finalise the suggestions. We will meet often to discuss the matter further.
“In fact, we are also setting up a Development Human Resource Sabah Native Rights Council to look into stateless issues in detail,” he said.
Nani stressed the committee was aimed at helping all undocumented people residing in Sabah regardless of race, including the Bajau Laut or Pala’u people.