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New kidnapping incident: Swift actions needed to prevent unnecessary and inaccurate speculation   Press Statement by Kerk Kim Hock (Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai has taken the correct and necessary step by immediately clarifying that new kidnapping incident at 10.30pm Sunday at a camping   resort near Lahat Datu in Sabah is not related to the Abu Sayyaf group.   Nevertheless, this new incident will have negative impact on Malaysia’s tourism as well as the nation’s image in terms of our security preparation ahead of a major international conference.   Hence, I call on the police to carry out the following steps:   1. to avoid the accusation the Police has not learned from the past lessons by explaining publicly why after the two kidnapping incidents three years ago and the subsequent actions to beef up security along the Sabah coasts, a new incident has just happened.   2. to instill public and foreign tourists confidence by immediately beefing up the security in Sabah costal areas   3. to effectively dispel any possible speculation that the incident was carried out by any terrorist group by hunting down the kidnappers   At a time when Malaysia will be hosting the 10th Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting, any foreign media speculation or interest will be centered on whether the incident is linked to any terrorist organization. As such, transparent and effective actions on Malaysia’s part are the best ways to prevent and dispel any possible, unnecessary and inaccurate speculation.   Although Tan Sri Norian Mai has ruled out Abu Sayyaf involvement in the hostage grab, we must be aware of the expectation that our security preparation ahead of a major international conference must be thorough and able enough to prevent the reoccurrence of any kidnapping incident in an area where Abu Sayyaf group had struck three years ago.   I believe that the Police will be capable of hunting down the kidnappers who are suspected to be locals.   Priority must be given to the safety of the hostages and all necessary assistance must be extended to the hostages’ families. . (7/10/2003) * Kerk Kim Hock, DAP Secretary General & MP for Kota Melaka