By Olivia Miwil - March 5, 2021 @ 10:12am
KOTA KINABALU: Sea gypsies found squatting in the city have been placed at a temporary shelter here.
Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) mayor Noorliza Awang Alip said the local authority had led a 75-personnel operation yesterday with People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) and Immigration Department in Sembulan and Inanam near here.
The operation, dubbed as Ops Bangau, had rounded up 132 people including 17 boys, 22 girls and 13 babies.
"Following the presence of the sea gypsy community as posted on social media recently, DBKK has acted on humanitarian principle to relocate them (at a temporary place) before other agencies take over.
"They will be gathered and screened for Covid-19 before handed over to the Immigration for further actions," she said in a statement, adding similar operations would continue until Sunday.
Yesterday, Api-Api assemblyman Datuk Christina Liew had urged the state government to act swiftly against a group of stateless people found squatting in Sembulan near here.
Liew added that makeshift shelters had sprung up and they were seen sleeping at an open space adjacent to the old water village off the Coastal Highway.
"The relevant authority must take appropriate action quickly so that the undocumented people's illegal occupation of the area in question will not grow into a colony of sorts.
"It is inconceivable that this undesirable situation is developing before our very eyes right in the heart of Kota Kinabalu City," Liew said in a separate statement.
She added that the community could potentially create a new Covid-19 cluster if left unchecked.
Comments
Post a Comment