East Malaysia's Tide of Illegal Immigrants

Pandemic brings fresh look at Sabah's large illegal immigrant population.

By: Joe Fernandez

In a campaign that has been slowed only by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the East Malaysia state of Sabah unremittingly deports illegal immigrants who come across the mountainous border with Indonesia or by boat to the state’s 1,743 km coastline, much of it uninhabited. Those deported by the front door in the morning, it's said, retur…