Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein considers the new portfolio of Minister with Special Functions he received last Wednesday, as more towards efficient distribution of responsibility, and showed solidarity among the Federal government leadership.

Hishammuddin said the speculations made, mainly by the opposition, showed they were not happy with the strong cooperation and understanding among Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders.

"Maybe they were unhappy with the announcement (appointment) because they were worried that the cooperation and understanding among our top leadership shows strong solidarity," he said during a press conference held at the Parliament lobby, outside the Dewan Negara today.

Hishammuddin, who is also Umno vice-president, was asked to comment on allegations that the portfolio would cause friction between himself and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Umno vice-president and has assumed the duties of deputy president.

Commenting further, he said as announced yesterday, among the special duties under the portfolio was to help Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak monitor the safety of Sabah and the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone), a crucial task following the threat posed by terrorists, particularly the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines which required special attention.

He said Zahid himself, who is also home minister, was aware of the special tasks involved, and had personally asked him to get closer to the people in Sabah, especially the fishermen there who were more vulnerable to terrorist threats.

"The distribution of tasks among us is important, because we can't possibly do everything, but teaming up, thinking and strategising, I believe that's quite important.

"For example, in the southern Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf group already supports Islamic State. Our relationship with Indonesia in a trilateral in the Sulu Sea, the approach made by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the approach of the police, led by Chief Minister (Musa Aman), and only with this synergy I believe we can take proactive measures to deal with threats that arise," he said.

As such, he once again rejected speculation that his appointment would result in a rift with Zahid, insisting that all parties had their own responsibilities in helping the prime minister.

- Bernama