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Borneo Herald
12.05PM MYT, 3-8-2026
By Daniel John Jambun, Inanam
BORNEO's Plight in Malaysia Foundation refers to the Daily Express forum article dated 2 August 2026, entitled “Filipinos in Sabah feel let down by Marcos.”
The writer, speaking as a Filipino living in Sabah, expressed disappointment that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr allegedly failed to confront serious public concerns surrounding corruption and a multibillion-peso flood-control controversy.
Every person has the right to demand honesty, accountability and good governance from his or her government. Ordinary Filipinos should not be blamed for the corruption, poverty and political failures that compel many of them to seek employment and security outside their homeland.
However, this article raises a larger and more uncomfortable question for Sabah:
Why are so many citizens of the Philippines compelled to depend upon Sabah for employment, livelihood, education, healthcare and survival while the Philippine Government continues to maintain a territorial claim over Sabah?
DO NOT SPEAK FOR EVERY FILIPINO IN SABAH
The article repeatedly uses the expression “we Filipinos in Sabah,” although it appears to be the opinion of an individual writer rather than a statement issued by a recognised organisation or based upon a community survey. The newspaper itself states that the views are those of the writer.
The writer is entitled to express disappointment with President Marcos. Nevertheless, no individual should automatically be understood as representing every Filipino residing in Sabah.
More importantly, any public discussion must distinguish between:
1. Philippine nationals who enter and work lawfully in Sabah;
2. persons possessing valid refugee or other recognised documentation;
3. children facing genuine documentation or statelessness problems; and
4. undocumented migrants who entered, remained or worked in Sabah in breach of Malaysian immigration laws.
Human dignity must be protected, but different legal categories cannot be deliberately blurred.
MANILA MUST ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS OWN CITIZENS
The writer states that Filipinos in Sabah work hard, abide by Malaysian laws and send money home to support their families.
Where this is true, their lawful contributions should be recognised. Workers must not be exploited, abused or denied wages merely because they are foreigners.
But the Philippine Government cannot be satisfied merely to receive remittances while Sabah carries the social, economic, administrative and security consequences of a large foreign population.
Manila has a duty to:
- properly identify and document its nationals;
- provide effective and accessible consular services;
- cooperate with Malaysia in preventing illegal entry;
- facilitate the lawful recruitment of workers;
- receive and reintegrate citizens who are repatriated;
- address the poverty and corruption that force its people abroad; and
- resolve the documentation of children before another generation is trapped in legal uncertainty.
The welfare of Philippine citizens in Sabah is first and foremost the responsibility of the Philippine Government. Sabah cannot be expected to become the permanent solution to another country’s governance failures.
SABAHANS MUST NOT BE MADE FOREIGNERS IN THEIR OWN HOMELAND
Sabah has long carried an immigration and demographic burden unlike that faced by most other parts of Malaysia.
This issue affects public healthcare, schools, housing, employment, security, electoral integrity and the future political character of Sabah.
Sabahans are therefore entitled to demand complete transparency concerning:
- the number of foreign nationals residing in Sabah;
- their countries of origin;
- their immigration and documentation status;
- the number of dependants and locally born children;
- enforcement and repatriation figures; and
- any citizenship or identity documents issued to persons whose original status may be questionable.
Compassion must never be manipulated into a justification for uncontrolled migration, unlawful documentation or demographic transformation.
Sabahans must not be marginalised, displaced or made to feel like foreigners in their own homeland.
THE CONTRADICTION OF THE PHILIPPINE CLAIM
The deepest contradiction is this:
The Philippines cannot continue asserting a territorial claim over Sabah while depending upon Sabah to shelter, employ and support large numbers of Philippine citizens whom Manila has failed to protect adequately at home.
Sabah is not Philippine territory.
Sabah is not an extension of the Philippine welfare system.
Sabah is not a political bargaining chip.
The Philippine Government should formally and permanently abandon its claim over Sabah and respect the political choice and dignity of the people of Sabah.
A government genuinely concerned about its citizens in Sabah should prioritise consular assistance, lawful documentation, labour protection and bilateral cooperation—not preserve a claim that undermines trust and keeps an unnecessary historical dispute alive.
PUTRAJAYA MUST ALSO ANSWER
Responsibility does not lie with Manila alone.
The Federal Government must explain how Sabah reached its present demographic situation despite Sabah’s constitutional safeguards over immigration.
Putrajaya must disclose whether federal agencies have fully protected Sabah’s special immigration position and whether citizenship, identity documents or electoral registration were ever obtained through fraud, political interference or administrative abuse.
The Federal Government must never impose policies upon Sabah that could convert temporary foreign presence into permanent political power without the informed consent of the people and Government of Sabah.
Sabah’s immigration safeguards were intended to protect the character, security and interests of Sabah. They must be implemented in substance, not merely acknowledged on paper.
HUMANITY WITHOUT SURRENDERING SOVEREIGNTY
BoPiMaFo rejects hatred, collective blame and hostility against ordinary Filipinos.
Many are themselves victims of poverty, conflict, corruption and failed governance. Every person, irrespective of nationality, must be treated humanely and according to law.
But humanity does not require Sabah to surrender its sovereignty, immigration safeguards or the future of its Indigenous peoples.
Our position is clear:
Protect lawful workers. Prevent exploitation. Document genuine citizens. Repatriate those without a lawful right to remain. Prosecute document fraud. Secure Sabah’s borders. Defend the political rights of Sabahans.
President Marcos should listen to the disappointment expressed by his citizens abroad. But he must do more than deliver speeches.
He must confrontin corruption, create opportunities at home, accept responsibility for Philippine nationals overseas and abandon the territorial claim that continues to insult the sovereignty and dignity of Sabah.
The people of Sabah may extend humanity to those in need.
But Sabah must never be required to pay indefinitely for the failures of Manila and Putrajaya.
Daniel John Jambun is President of
Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)#Borneo Herald™
