I wish to first extend my condolences to the family of marine police Kpl Abdul Rajah Jamuan who was killed during the attack by Filipino gunmen on a security post in Pulau Mabul on Saturday.
It was sad that after so many past kidnappings and intrusions as well as assurances by the government that safety in Sabah coastline would be enhanced, the latest incident has happened.
Shocked Malaysians are now asking why the government has been unable to provide effective protection to Sabah’s east coast after the set up of Esscom.
When launching the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) in April last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib had said, among steps to be taken to ensure peace along Sabah’s coastline, there would be effective coastal surveillance 24-hours a day.
After the murder and abduction of a Taiwanese tourist and his wife at Pom Pom Island on November 15 last year, Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar immediately assured that the police and armed forces would enhance security measures in Semporna, where the incident occurred, and all of eastern Sabah.
So what has gone wrong that intrusions have continued to happen after the Pom Pom incident?
The Prime Minister’s reaction to the latest incident was most disappointing and will not instil public confidence in Esscom’s effectiveness.
He was quoted to say:
“If there is a need to add more personnel, then Esscom has to do it. I have been told that there are not enough security personnel at resorts in the area.
There are weaknesses in the security placement and planning on the ground in the Esszone. It is the duty of the new operations chief to look into this”.
How could the Prime Minister say that there were not enough security personnel at resorts in the sea and that there were weakness in the security placement and planning on the ground after Esscom has been set up for more than a year and after kidnappings have happened in the past year?
Such weaknesses and problems ought to have been resolved earlier. Why has the government not learned any lesson?
The Prime Minister should have expressed his disappointment and even anger that there could still exist such weakness and problems.
In fact, he should reject such explanations and take tough actions on this latest security breach.
Heads must roll and if a new Home Minister needs to be appointed, Najib must do it without hesitation and delay.