Sabah needs real protection, not ‘show-piece’ defence

The frequent entry by pirates into Sabah waters has raised questions over the effectiveness of border security.

TAWAU: The Home and Defence Ministers were today taken to task for boasting about Malaysia’s untested submarine – KD Tunku Abdul Rahman – but not being able to provide a practical defence of Sabah’s coastline.

Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui contended that the provision of more manpower and patrol vessels to combat piracy in Sabah waters was more pragmatic than having the French-made Scorpene-class submarine docked at Teluk Sepanggar in Kota Kinabalu.

She said it was important to show government’s serious defence mission and not merely putting up a show of defence with a show-piece armament.

Chua made the statement following a fact-finding visit to Kampung Indra Sabah, the site of a mysterious raid by a group of heavily armed men late last month.

The puzzling incident which saw the men make off with a few hundred ringgit worth of anchovies happened a few days after the abduction of two hostages from a Felda estate in Tunku, Lahad Datu.

The frequent unauthorised entry by lawless elements into Sabah waters, Chua said, had terrorised the people of Sabah and inevitably raised questions over the effectiveness of border security.

She said the raids had caused consternation among those involved in Sabah’s tourism industry, especially in the east coast of the state.

“Please bear in mind that there have been two incidents of kidnapping of foreign tourists in the past, one time at the Sipadan Island and another time at Mataking Island off Semporna,” she said.

Robberies at sea

The porous coastline of Sabah has raised alarm bells over the ease with which firearms, narcotics and illegal immigrants can be brought into the state.

Chua, who is also a vice-president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), revealed that she had been informed by villagers in Kampung Indra Sabah that prior to this, there had been a few robberies at sea and one incident where a boat owner was forced to swim back to the shore.

Criminal acts declined when the government stationed a General Operations Force (GOF) unit at the jetty but redeployed the force elsewhere two years ago.

In 2010, a seaweed farm manager and one of his workers on the farm around Sebangkat Island, near Semporna, were kidnapped by a group of men armed with rifles and machete. They were later released after ransom money was paid by the victims’ families.

A small police base that was set up at the village to replace the GOF unit has been criticised as ineffective as the personnel are not equipped to patrol the waters where most of the crimes are taking place.