PENAMPANG, Sept 30 — The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) has called on all Sabahans to unite against a Philippines senator who recently urged his country to renew its claim on Sabah.

Incoming Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick said Philippines senator Francis Tolentino made a strong statement when urging his government to further claim Sabah and even justified his assertion with the presence of 750,000 undocumented Filipinos in the state.

Ewon said such a move would "create a crack in the diplomatic relationship” between Malaysia and the Philippines.

"I therefore urge all Sabahans to be united against this senator and against their intention. Sabah is ours and we must protect this land fearlessly,” he stressed.

Ewon, who is also Kadamaian assemblyman, demanded the federal government respond strongly to the Philippines government and take bold action against undocumented Filipinos in Sabah.

"Their presence, probably more than 750,000, certainly poses a security risk threat to Sabahans. It happened before and it could happen again. The time has come for the federal government to undertake political will to resolve this issue once and for all.

"This is a long-standing issue because the federal government failed to find a real solution. How long more do we have to wait for a real solution? Is the federal government surrendering Sabah?” he stated.

Ewon also urged the Sabah government to take the lead in pressuring the federal government to resolve the issue of undocumented Filipinos and illegal immigrants in Sabah.

"It cannot be that the state government refused a motion on this issue to be debated in the State Assembly and yet no real action is being taken to address the issue. Even in Kota Kinabalu, stateless children are disturbing traffic commuters asking for money. This makes Sabahans really uncomfortable,” he added.

In an interview with ABS-CBN news, Tolentino asked the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs to seize the opportunity to stake the country’s claim on Sabah following an arbitration award to the supposed heirs of the Sulu Sultanate. — Borneo Post