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KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia?A former Filipino soldier paced pensively outside the illegal immigrant screening center here before approaching some officials to obtain the release of his wife.
The Johorean argued that his ?documentless? Filipino wife was not an ?illegal immigrant? but the mother of his three school-going children.
?How can they do this? My wife holds a (immigrant) census certificate. I know they don?t recognize it but it was given to her as a legal document at one time to be in Sabah,? he said pleading his case.
?If she has to be deported then I want to be deported, too. I will go and fight with the Abu Sayyaf,? said the man whose mood swung from anguish to anger as he was pleading with the officials.
Later, the man, who declined to be identified, admitted that the Immigration Department had previously advised that his wife return to the Philippines and come back legally to apply for her stay pass.
?I want to do it but I don?t have enough money,? said the self-employed man and Rela member.
The operation to drive out illegals gets underway and both the state and Federal Government hope to resolve not only the illegal immigrant problems but also issues ranging from stateless people to foreigners obtaining citizenship through the backdoor.
