Putrajaya has stated it will defer to the decision by the Sabah government to scrap the implementation of the controversial Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) immigration document.

The Home Ministry said today this was because the decision to introduce the PSS - which was meant to better document migrants in Sabah and tackle related document forgery cases - was made together with the state Parti Warisan Sabah government.

“Seeing as the decision to implement the PSS was a joint decision between the Sabah government and the federal government through the Committee on the Management of Foreign Nationals in Sabah, the ministry, as coordinator, adopts the same stand as the Sabah government,” it said in a statement.

Even so, the ministry stressed that efforts to solve the issue surrounding refugees in the state must be continued “with more caution and care, without jeopardising the rights of citizens, (and) the interests and security of the people of Sabah.”

Yesterday, Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal (above) reportedly announced the decision - made by the state cabinet - to revoke the PSS slated to take off on June 1.

PSS was to be issued to migrants to replace three existing documents, namely the "IMM13", the "Burung-burung" cards and census certificates.

The state’s decision came following Warisan’s defeat to BN in last Saturday’s Kimanis by-election.

The PSS issue was seen as a key swing factor after BN played it up, alleging the PSS could be used to provide migrants with citizenship and alter the demographics in the state.

The claims were repeatedly dismissed by the Home Ministry and Sabah government.

“The PSS holder's status remains as a foreigner and is not a guarantee to be granted a permit, Temporary Resident (status), Permanent Resident (status) or citizenship,” the ministry said.