Waters off Beluran also under curfew
Published on: Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The waters off another district has been placed under curfew as the authorities tighten their grip on security in the East Coast of Sabah. Beluran is now the seventh district, after Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau, where movement at sea will be restricted from dusk to dawn. State Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said this when announcing the extended curfew order which entered its 28th phase from Sept 23 to Oct 8, from 7pm to 5am.
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"The decision came following requests for the curfew order to be enforced in the Beluran area where the Lankayan, Billean and Tegipil islands have been gazetted under the Sugud Island Marine Conservation Area (Simca)," he told a media conference at the State police headquarters in Kepayan, Monday.Simca comes under the provisions of Section 21 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 to manage and conserve coral reefs which are important to preserve the marine life diversity in the area. "The area also has 14 visitors, aged between 30 and 60, from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the US and Germany, making it 140 a month, managing, exploring and conserving marine life in the area," he said, adding that these tourists would stay in chalets available on Lankayan island. He has authorised the Beluran Police Chief to issue fishing permit to fishermen in the area since it was a fishing area, adding that they do not want the area to be a soft target. Thus, a curfew order was needed to ensure security in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) as well as safety of tourists in the area.
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He cited a recent incident where robbers believed to be armed, made off with about 200kg of prawns after stealing from a fishing boat off Beluran waters. "This may be a small robbery, but we take this matter seriously, we do not want the area to be exposed to robbery on fishing boats, there are also many rivers and streams which can be used by criminals and kidnap-for-ransom groups as alternative routes to enter the Esszone areas.
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"We have to think of the worst case scenario. Thus, the curfew order is needed to ensure better control and security off our waters," he said, adding that the move also received support from other enforcement agencies including the navy. "Taking into consideration several of these factors, the sea border has been extended from 362 nautical miles to 390.6 nautical miles, while the coastal border from 335 nautical miles to 413.2 nautical miles. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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