Kota Kinabalu (May 29) - A Sabah opposition leader has urged state authorities to strengthen immigration enforcement after growing public concern that Malaysia's visa-free entry policy is being exploited by foreign nationals illegally conducting business and offering paid services in the state.
Parti Warisan vice president Datuk Junz Wong, who is also the Tanjung Aru assemblyman, issued the call in a statement yesterday, saying the situation could no longer be ignored. The Borneo Post reported that Wong cited rising alarm among local Chinese businesses and service providers who had noticed foreigners openly advertising trades such as plumbing and renovation work on social media — services being offered while the individuals held only social visit passes.
Wong, according to Free Malaysia Today, said such occurrences were not isolated and pointed to the 2024 Malaysia-China visa-free travel arrangement as a factor that had worsened the trend.
The assemblyman drew on a recent parliamentary clarification to back his call for action. According to the Borneo Post, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had confirmed in Parliament that the visa-free arrangement for Chinese nationals covers only tourism and social visits, and that paid work or professional services require the appropriate visas and work permits. Wong argued that if the federal government had already acknowledged the risk and tightened its conditions, Sabah's own enforcement agencies had no justification for inaction.
He called on the state government, the Immigration Department, local councils, and other relevant agencies to review their monitoring mechanisms and carry out stricter inspections, Free Malaysia Today reported.
Wong also raised consumer safety concerns, warning Sabahans to exercise caution when engaging foreign contractors offering household services, noting that fraudulent contractor cases had previously emerged in the state.
Throughout his statement, Wong was careful to frame the issue as one of rule of law rather than ethnicity or national origin. His core argument was that immigration facilities designed for tourists and visitors must not be allowed to serve as a backdoor for undocumented workers — a concern with particular resonance in Sabah, a state that has long grappled with illegal immigration along its coastline and borders.