'Arrest us if you want to destroy our house' - slain Sabah hero's widow

In 2013 police sergeant Abd Azis Sarikon gave his life defending Sabah from the infamous Royal Sulu Army intrusion.

He was among the six police personnel killed during a raid on Kampung Simunul in Semporna, where they were ambushed and shot in cold blood by terrorists armed with assault rifles.

Now, 11 years later, Azis’s widow and children also find themselves the victims of an intrusion - this time by the very state that the officer made the ultimate sacrifice for.

Their house in Kampung Alab - a water village in Pulau Bodgaya, Semporna - is one of the areas targeted by authorities for demolition.

Azis’s widow Sitti Bandorah Mahalil said law enforcement officers, including the police and Sabah Parks personnel, came to the village yesterday morning and ordered them to pack and leave.

‘Threats of arrest’

However, the family and their fellow villagers refused to budge, before an officer threatened to arrest all of them.

“We told them that we do not want our houses demolished. They can arrest us if they want.

“Then the officers threatened to arrest everyone, to which we said okay.

“But after we finished packing, the authorities told my neighbour that they will come back tomorrow (today) to do the demolition,” she told Malaysiakini.

Sitti Bandorah Mahalil

According to a copy of Sabah Parks’ notice to villagers, their houses need to be demolished because they allegedly encroached into the Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

This was despite many of them having lived there for decades, like Sitti, who is now 51.

While the authorities did not go through with the demolition yesterday, she claimed that officers cut down some 20 mango trees instead.

‘Guardians of peace no longer’

This morning, the officers returned to the village at about 7am, reinforced by a larger number, Siti said.

To her disappointment, among the raiding party were police personnel, including from the General Operations Force (GOF), the paramilitary wing that her late husband had served.

The late Abd Azis Sarikon

Sitti claimed some of the officers were also rude to her and her family when they refused to vacate the house, including scolding them for trying to take photos during the encounter.

“I was shouted at several times in front of my own children. The officers even told me to shut up and just eat my breakfast.

“Can you imagine my feeling? I felt like crying. I used to be so proud of the police uniform. I was really proud that I told my children to join the police when they grow up, despite still feeling the hurt from losing my husband.

“Because to me, police are like the guardians of peace (penjaga keamanan). But it doesn’t seem that way now,” she said.

The housewife questioned why the state wanted to evict villagers from the area as they were locals.

She also lambasted the authorities for trying to demolish the houses instead of focusing on combating crime in Semporna.

“We only want to live in our house. But they want to demolish it. They even cut down our trees.

“We are Malaysians, we are not immigrants. There are (criminals) out there whom they know are selling drugs and illegal cigarettes in Semporna town, why are the authorities not going against them?

“Why are they doing this to harmless villagers like us? Today I want to say that I hate the police,” she said. - Mkini