Sabah foreign intrusion proves the failure of Putrajaya’s security zone
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Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan is the Chairman of STAR Sabah and State Assemblymen for N33, Bingkor, Sabah.
He also contested in P180, Keningau garnering 11900 strong votes
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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — The murder and abduction of a Taiwanese couple in Sabah yesterday proves the failure of Putrajaya’s latest efforts to keep the state’s border secure from foreign intruders, several Sabah opposition politicians have said.
They demanded immediate resignations from Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the face of the incident, insisting that both men, as the ministers of defense and home affairs, should be held responsible for the apparent oversight by security personnel and the Malaysia-Philippines border.
State Reform Party (STAR) chairman Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan said this was particularly the case as the incident, which the police believe involves Islamist terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and Al-Qaeda, had occurred despite the formation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) in April.
“With the creation of Esscom, the placement of seven battalions, the government is saying we are very secure, (but) where is the security?” Kitingan told The Malay Mail Online today.
“It shows that this measure taken has not been effective. The government needs to do something; Somebody has to take responsibility for this. This is a security issue...it’ll drive away the tourists,” added the Bingkor assemblyman.
Unidentified gunmen stormed the Pom-Pom Island Resort off Sabah’s eastern coast at about 1am yesterday, raiding five water villas, shooting dead Taiwanese tourist Hsu Lim Min, 57, and abducting his 58-year-old wife, Chang An Wei.
The resort, which is accessible by a 45-minute boat ride from Semporna in Sabah and just a 30-minute ride from the Philippines’ Tawi-Tawi islands, is located under a kilometer away from a General Operations Force (GOF) base.
The GOF base was among the others set up under Esscom, which covers the 1,400-km coastline from Kudat to Tawau, following the incursion of Sulu militants from southern Philippines into Lahad Datu in February.
Esscom was allocated RM75 million in Budget 2014.
Esscom director-general Datuk Mohammad Mentek was also quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama last September that seven battalions - comprising military and police personnel — would be deployed soon in the Sabah east coast, but did not specify the date.
PKR’s Penampang MP Darell Leiking said that the murder-cum-abduction case showed a “total failure” of the security forces, pointing out that this was not the first time such kidnappings have occurred in Sabah waters.
“I appreciate that they’re protecting our nation, but probably, the focus should be made more on intrusions that are already ongoing in Sabah by these foreigners,” Leiking told The Malay Mail Online today.
“At the same time, they should stop all those entries into Sabah, not only pirates, but also people who are seeking citizenship...The people of Malaysia have allowed them to utilize the federal budget to protect Sabah, and yet this incident has happened,” added the PKR deputy secretary-general.
The murder and abduction of the Taiwanese couple occurred just three months after nine Malaysian fishermen were briefly abducted from two boats off Mabul Island, near Semporna, by Philippine gunmen, but were released hours later.
In February, over 200 gunmen claiming to be followers of the Sulu Sultanate invaded Lahad Datu to lay claim over Sabah, resulting in a four-month conflict that had caused almost 80 fatalities, including the deaths of 10 Malaysian security personnel.
In 2000, Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped 21 people, including 10 foreign tourists, at Sipadan Island off Sabah, but released them six months later.
Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong also said that Hishammuddin should resign as defense minister following the latest abduction.
“A simple test of the Esscom has failed,” Wong told The Malay Mail Online today.
“The coastline has a lot of illegal squatters. The houses of illegal squatters on all the islands and the coastal areas should be demolished. For the first time in Abu Sayyaf’s history, they shot somebody. They kidnapped, but also shot and killed, which means they’re desperate for money,” he added
Credits: Yahoo! News
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