KOTA KINABALU: Humanitarian approaches to addressing the plight of Sabah's stateless children could potentially benefit Sabah economically in the future, according to tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
In a local daily, he was quoted urging Sabah leaders to grant permanent residency to stateless individuals.
However, the entrepreneur said such a status would not confer voting rights to this group.
Tan, who is also a commissioner for the Tzu Chi Foundation, described his visit to the foundation's school in Tawau, which serves around 300 stateless children, as an eye-opening experience.
"The children were dressed in neat uniforms and sang songs in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English. I was very impressed.
"However, I was deeply saddened by their humble living conditions in stilt houses and their scavenging at rubbish dumps for food and items to sell," Tan remarked during the Sabah CEO Master Class 2024 event on Thursday.
Following his visit, he said he had requested the Education Ministry to support the construction of more schools through the foundation for stateless students.