Deadline for use of pump boats
Published on: Friday, April 22, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The State Government is working towards banning the use of pump boats in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone), said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. He said efforts are being streamlined to ban its use and a deadline will be set to enforce it. For now, he said, the interim date agreed by the State Security Committee is on January 7, next year."In the meantime, Malaysians can still use their pump boats although we do not encourage it.
ADVERTISEMENT
The use of such boats by non-Malaysians, however, are banned immediately," he said in the Chief Minister's Department winding-up speech, read out by State Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang at the State Assembly sitting, here, Thursday.He said the issue of security and the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) were debated by many assemblymen during the four-day Assembly sitting, especially in view of the latest kidnapping incidents near Pulau Ligitan and in the Philippine waters recently."All the matters raised will be given serious attention and reviewed based on needs. At the same time, Esscom needs the cooperation from all levels of society, including political leaders, in channelling and disseminating information about security to the grassroots so that we can all shoulder the responsibility in managing it at the Esszone," he said.Musa also said the State Government was seriously looking into proposals made during the Assembly sitting, which included the stationing of one General Operations Force battalion in Bum-Bum Island, Semporna and improving accommodation at all security posts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Other than these, he said they will also look into a proposal to conduct a comprehensive study on the motives of kidnapping in order to come up with some conclusive findings that could help combat such incidents in the future.Meanwhile, Musa vowed to help those who are entitled to Native Customary Rights (NCR) lands in Sabah to receive the titles.
ADVERTISEMENT
He, however, stressed that there were opportunists who are not 'genuine owners' claiming the lands and this is what the Government needs to carefully scrutinise."For villagers who have lived there for generations, I have no problems with giving them approval and this was what I suggested to the Lands and Surveys Director to instruct his officers."But the problem is with those who are not sincere and not real owners, those who just applied and those hailing from other districts (applying for land grants in different district)."There is even a situation we call 'midnight planting' where a person gets oil palm planted overnight and then informs the authorities that he has been working on the lands for years. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
