The Meaning of ACMI Logo

COLOR: the color theme is based on the Sabah’s flag.

Mt.Kinabalu that connects to the ocean:  Mt.Kinabalu and ocean means there are no boundaries between human beings, no separation.

HUMAN FACE and OPEN HANDS: Face and open hands means offering love and kindness/reaching out.

Backgrounder

After the launching of the Diocesan Organizational Pastoral Plan (DOPP) on 16^th September 1997, the Diocese of Kota Kinabalu began to implement what was proposed and agreed in the Plan. New ministries were introduced to respond to the signs of the time. But it took more than eight years before a small group of people comprised of Fr.Ambrose Atang, Sr.Angeline Peter rsg, Dominic Lim, Martin Idang, Eric Majimbun and Patrick Lokuman to form a study group called the Diocesan Human Development Committee in 2005 to study some documents related to the social mission of the Church, specifically on the Catholic Social Teachings. Among the first serious attempts of this Committee was to work with the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) on a two-year Cross Border Counter Trafficking Project in 2008-2009. The project was timely as the Anti-Trafficking in Person Act (ATIP) which was just tabled and adopted by the Malaysian Parliament in 2008.

By 2010, the Committee was elevated to the status of a Commission, namely Archdiocesan Human Development Commission (AHDC). Fr. Ambrose Atang and Dominic Lim were appointed by Archbishop John Lee as its Spiritual Adviser and Coordinator respectively. They invited twelve other members (religious and lay) to join the Commission.

Among the scope of responsibilities of AHDC was to provide pastoral care to migrants. Over the next 10 years, AHDC organized awareness programs on the plights of migrants. Collaborated with home dioceses of the migrants to provide pastoral care to those in need, and networked with like-minded groups within and outside of the Church. To further expand its activities, Parish Human Development Committees (PHDCs) were set up and AHDC, and  full timers were employed to man the Migrant Desk at the Catholic Diocesan Centre.

When Caritas Malaysia spread its wing to the Archdiocese in late 2019, AHDC was dissolved to pave the way for the emergence of two new diocesan bodies, namely Caritas Kota Kinabalu and Archdiocesan Commission for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (ACMI). Caritas took over the responsibilities of AHDC to continue promoting the social mission of the Church while ACMI purely focused on matters related to migration.

Inauguration of ACMI

The newly established Archdiocesan Commission for pastoral care of Migrants and Itinerants (ACMI) of Kota Kinabalu has its inaugural gathering on 12^th December 2019 with the presence of Archbishop John Wong at the Catholic Diocesan Centre, Taman Hiburan, Penampang.

During the gathering, the head of the Archdiocese welcomed the fourteen-member Commission comprising eight former members of the previous Archdiocesan Human Development Commission (AHDC), two former staff of KK Migrant Desk, and four others who have experienced in handling migrant issues.

The prelate also officially introduced Fr. Ambrose Atang as Spiritual Adviser of ACMI and Dominic Lim as its head. He said even though ACMI is a new Commission in the Archdiocese, pastoral care to migrants has been going on in the local Church since its early days, and was one of the main focuses of AHDC in the past 10 years. However, with the setting up of ACMI, he hoped the pastoral care of migrants and itinerants in the Archdiocese would be more intensified and organized.

Nature or Purpose of Existence of ACMI

To act as the official body of the Archdiocese to welcome, promote, protect and integrate the migrants and itinerants into the life of the local communities.

Guiding Principles

• ACMI acts for and on behalf of the Archbishop
• ACMI is primarily concerned with the building of parish ministries that are willing and able to adequately engage in the pastoral care of migrants and itinerants.
• ACMI always makes a deliberate attempt to involve the parishes in the provision of services to migrants and itinerants in the Archdiocese.
• ACMI leads the way in creating new avenues of co-operation between the Archdiocese and other Christian denominations, faith-based organisations (FBOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Governmental Agencies that are involved in the care of migrants. 

Objectives of ACMI

1. To serve as the official arm of the Archbishop in matters pertaining to the pastoral care of migrants in the Archdiocese.
2. To initiate, develop and sustain parish migrant ministry, including the provision of training, information, materials and tools where necessary.
3. To initiate and encourage the annual Migrant Sunday celebration at Archdiocesan and Parish levels.
4. To initiate, support and sustain the provision of services that benefit the migrant community.
5. To initiate and support advocacy efforts that improve the recognition and respect of the human dignity of migrants and itinerants and the rights that flow from that dignity.

Accountability

ACMI is accountable to the Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu.

ACMI Membership in other migrant-related bodies

ACMI is a founding-member of the Sabah Catholic Migrant Ministry Team (SCMMT) which comprised of representatives from the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu, Dioceses of Keningau and Sandakan to oversea pastoral care to migrants in Sabah. The Adviser of the Team is Bishop Julius Gitom of Sandakan. Its chairmanship is rotated among the three dioceses for a two-year term. Among its key program is AMOS conference, which serves as the forum for sharing and deliberation on matters of concerns related to pastoral care to migrants in Sabah. The last Amos conference, AMOS-5, was hosted by Keningau diocese in 2023 which focused on Right to Education of migrant children.

ACMI is also a member of the Episcopal Commission for the pastoral care of Migrants and Itinerants (ECMI) for Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei. In fact, in 2019, Dominc Lim was elected as Chairperson of ECMI for the 2019-2021 term. It was during this term that ECMI’s structure was reorganized. The concept of “Regional Cluster” was introduced. For the 2024-2026 term of office, Peter Zeter from ACMI was elected as ECMI Vice Chairman.

ACMI Focus_compressed

106th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS & REFUGEES
27 September 2020

To follow the “Perayaan Misa Kudus bersama Bapa Uskup Agung John Wong”  sempena sambutan “Hari Migran dan Pengungsi sedunia yang ke 106 tahun” (World Day of Migrants and Refugees), visit the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu Youtube Channel at   https://youtu.be/IacITys0Pn4  
 

Selamat Menyambut Hari Migran dan Pengungsi Sedunia yang ke 106. Semoga Tuhan memberkati dan melindungi kita semua.