The arrest this week of a Malaysian policeman suspected of being a Sulu terrorist is just the "tip of the iceberg" of the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah, said Tamparuli assemblyperson Wilfred Bumburing.

"The arrest ... has vindicated my fear that the illegal imigrants have permeateted into our security forces.

"The police must reveal the background of the corporal," the Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) chief said in a statement today.

He was referring to Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar's announcement on Wednesday that police have arrested six suspected Sulu terrorists over last February's Lahad Datu intrusion.

Among them were the Malaysian corporal, according to the IGP.

Bumburing ( left ) said this isn't the first such case and is symptomatic of a larger problem, citing a similar arrest of a police personnel in Tanduo.

"The case of the arrest of the corporal (in Kunak) is only the tip of the iceberg.

"The presence of the hundreds of thousands of the illegal immigrants in Sabah poses the greatest danger to Sabah," he said.

He lamented that Sabahan's calls for the government to tackle the problem have "fallen on deaf ears."

"I am repeating my warning to the government that the time will imminently come when the illegal immigrants, who, like  'time bomb' will explode and the government will be powerless to contain the problem," warned Bumburing.

The eastern coast of Sabah was caught in a long-drawn conflict with Sulu intruders last year.

Despite the formation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) following the fiasco, intruders continue to breach the maritime border, resulting in an undending series of kidnappings.

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