Sabah sees US help as vital in improving security

Authorities in Sabah are stepping up security efforts in the wake of a travel advisory alert regarding the state by the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Plugging the loopholes however hinges on the US sharing whatever information it has on the region.

US-Sabah co-operation could help overcome gaps in the local security framework, help better employ scarce security assets, foster co-operation between the army and its counterparts and minimise the fall-out on the vital tourism industry.

The alert will not be lifted before April 15 at the earliest, according to the US Embassy's communication with the Malaysian Foreign Ministry.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal ( right ) stressed that "the United States must share information from their security intelligence agencies with us.

"It involves their people in our country as well," pointed out Shafie who is Semporna MP. "However, our security forces are always on the lookout and safety along the east coast of Sabah is guaranteed."

Minister in the Chief Minister's Department, Nasir Sakaran, found the travel alert unnecessary after a just-concluded visit to several islands off Semporna. The island, he pointed out, had a permanent naval presence and several police posts.

Semporna is one of the places mentioned in the US travel advisory warning along with the internationally-renowned Sipadan and nearby Mabul islands. Both islands attract hordes of foreign divers and other tourists.

Not justified

According to Wisma Putra, the US Govt has yet to justify its travel advisory warning which has since been adopted by several other countries.

Initially, the US Embassy issued a low-key travel warden on Jan 15. On the same day, the US State Department's Bureau of Consumer Affairs upgraded the travel warden into a travel alert, alarming other nations as well.

Already, foreign tourists have started cancelling trips to Kota Kinabalu although the travel alert covers the east coast.

Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Tengku Zainal Abidin said he hoped the embassies concerned would discuss their travel advisory warnings with them first.

"Previous travel warnings have turned out to be false," he said.

Tengku Zainal was dismayed that the tourists who have put off their Sabah visits are not only from the US but from several other countries as well including Japan, England and Australia.

However he was unable to put a figure on the extent of the damage to the local tourist industry.

"When we get information, we need to disseminate it as fast as we can so that appropriate action can be taken immediately," said Brig-Gen Masrani Paiman, 5th Infantry Brigade Commander. "This is an area we can improve on."

New radar system

Paiman see information exchange as vital to facilitate a new radar system now in service and the increased number of soldiers deployed in the outlying islands who have been placed on high alert. One possible danger is the kidnap of foreign tourists for ransom.

The information gap clearly further exacerbates the shortage of manpower in the state. The police to population ratio, for example, is put at a dismal 1:700 by State Criminal Investigation Department Chief, SAC 11 Zainal Abidin Kasim.

"I only have 400 CID personnel in Sabah with a population of four million," complained Zainal. "The city (Kota Kinabalu) police have only about 44 CID men."

He disclosed that his men often worked until 5am and had to be back the job by 8am.

Speculation is rife that the US issued the travel alert after its own discovery that security was lax in Sabah especially along the eastern seaboard.

A Universiti Sabah Malaysia sea expedition sometime in the middle of last year found serious security gaps along the state's east coast. There was little or no sign of the presence of security personnel and neglect of the outlying and named islands was evident, the expedition discovered.

Bracing for fresh inflow of refugees

Authorities in Sabah are meanwhile bracing themselves for a possible fresh inflow of refugees following renewed unrest in the southern Philippines.

Security at all entry points in the state is being beefed up. The focus of security operations is on coastal areas nearer Philippine waters and territory.

"For now, the situation is under control. It would be hard for them (refugees or militants) to enter the state given our strict monitoring," said State Deputy Police Commissioner Abdul Razak Abdul Ghani in an update on the security situation in Sabah."

Sabah police have stepped up patrols in seven undisclosed areas with high traffic movement across the maritime borders.They are also maintaining a high alert on 49 islands along the east coast of the state, especially Pulai Sebatik, Sandakan, Tunkku, Semporna and three other undisclosed areas.

Of particular concern are the waters off Pulau Tambisan near Pulau Tawi-Tawi, Pulau Silingan and Bakungan Kecil near Sandakan and Pulau Cagayan and Taganak. Another gap was Pulau Banggi near Kudat and not far from Palawan in the Philippines. In Tawau waters, Pulau Sebatik was noted as a weak spot.

Most of these islands are hotspots for smuggling activities, robberies at sea, fish bombing and a backdoor route for the influx of illegal immigrants who slip in and out of Sabah.

They are also along the legitimate barter trade route and the ferries which criss-cross the waters between Sabah, Zamboanga in the southern Philippines and Nunukan in Indonesia.

The police may also take steps to ban the use of bakakuk (home-made shotguns) which are usually used by rural people for hunting wildlife. Police fear the bakakuk might fall into the hands of militants in the southern Philippines or refugee groups.