SABAH, March 30 – Civil society group MANDIRI has strongly condemned the arrest of an underage student from Sekolah Alternatif Teluk Layan during a charity shopping programme for asnaf at a shopping mall in Kota Kinabalu.

The student, identified as Niko, was reportedly handcuffed and taken to a police station without clear explanation, despite teachers presenting official permission documents for the programme.

MANDIRI called for Nikoโ€™s immediate release and urged the government, including Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, to address the long-standing statelessness issue affecting the Bajau Laut community through fair and humane policies.