Despite of reforming the current command and control structure of Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) is vital to boost up security level of affected area, Eastern Sabah Safe Zone (ESSZone), command rotation between the Royal Malaysian Army (RMA) and Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) would eventually run down the ESSCom operation.
Command rotation between RMA and RMP every 18 months is a bad idea, as the office bearer who have familiar with the operation after 18 months have to leave the position to someone new to the modus operanti. The new office bearer needs to pick up fast otherwise would fail to deliver performance. In short, each individual of ESSCom commander always go through a tough learning curve and it could make entire ESSCom operation ineffective and inefficient.
Earlier in May, DAP has submitted a memorandum pertaining improvement of ESSCom to Chief Minister Musa Aman. Among the highlighted recommendations is, ESSCom shall be replaced by a new Joint Command, which chaired by a senior police officer, as the issue is pertaining to internal security matter. Furthermore, the new Joint Command must be designed in a way that is able to resolve the overlapping jurisdiction among all related authorities, namely Markas Angkatan Tugas Bersama 2 (MATB 2), RMA, RMP etc.
DAP considers the kidnapping cases happen repeatedly in ESSZone as a kind of Cross Border Crime, not as intrusion of foreigner to our homeland. Therefore, DAP is in the opinion that a senior police officer is much more suitable picked as the head of the Joint Command instead of a senior military officer.
Meanwhile, I also call for greater transparency in investigations against the issues of low integrity, graft and information leaks amongst security and defence personnel in the ESSCom. The recent statement of Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein that corruption and leakages were among the causes of continued intrusions in the 1400km long coastal areas of ESSZone, must be taken seriously by all related authorities.
Ironically, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s statement that the police have not received any reports or complaints of corruption within ESSCom, is fully contradictory with what the Defence Minister have told us. The disagreement between the Defence Minister and IGP has shown that interdepartmental coordination is never a easy task but it’s vital to make ESSCom a success model.