Hopes rise, two Malaysians kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf still alive

The two Malaysian who were kidnapped by Filipino gunmen in Lahad Datu more than eight months ago may still be alive after a photograph of the two cousins surfaced.

The photograph of Chong Wei Fei, 33, a plantation manager, and Chong Wei Jie, 25, an assistant manager was emailed to The Star yesterday.

The English daily reported that a source said the two were frequently being moved from one hide out to another on Jojo Island, which is located about 300km from Lahad Datu, since they were abducted last November.

The family members of the Chongs have refused to speak to the media and have maintained that they were leaving it to the Malaysian authorities to help secure the duo’s release.

Sources close to the family, however, claimed that a RM10 million ransom was made early this year.

Meanwhile, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazma Taib had recently said that the police knew both of them were alive and wanted to re-establish contact which was disrupted during the Sulu intrusion in Felda Sahabat in February.

The usual method to deal with such situation is to engage professional negotiators who had contacts with armed groups linked to the Abu Sayyaf militants.

It is believed that the gunmen had agreed on the ransom amount prior to the Sulu armed incursion.

However, negotiations were abandoned when the Malaysian troops launched Ops Daulat to flush out the Sulu armed group from Sabah.