Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) called on the police to check all foreigners for hidden weapons and authenticity of their documents.Its Chief Christina Liew made the call in the wake of Wednesday night's hostage drama in which a 30-year-old foreigner surrendered to police two hours after he held two women hostage in two separate incidents at Damai, here.
"It is imperative that police start now to stop and check foreigners for any concealed weapons.
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What is happening to Sabah as even ordinary Sabahans can be taken hostage in the streets of the State capital?
Does this mean Kota Kinabalu is no longer safe for Malaysian citizens?
"Where are the recommendations promised by Chairman Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan vis-a-vis the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants (RCI) in Sabah? Why are police not checking every foreigner in the streets for their documents and do so with a device since it was revealed by police that there are many fake imm13 documents, let alone fake identity cards (ICs)?" she asked in a statement, Thursday.
Liew, who is also Api-Api Assemblywoman, asserted that what happened is serious because a criminal taking citizens hostage had never happened anywhere in Malaysia.
"It is undoubtedly bad for tourism as until now hostage-taking only happened in the east coast of Sabah," she pointed out.
On the same note, Liew said the US had warned its people not to go to Palawan, and yet the Malaysian Government is allowing a ferry service between Palawan and Kudat that will start soon.
"At the moment, we don't know who is coming and going via the Sandakan Ferry.
The foreigner believed to be a Filipino in yesterday's case could even be one of many that escaped Philippines President Duterte's crackdown over there," she opined.
She said Wednesday night's incident was not an isolated one as it was not the first time that foreigners wielding a sharp weapon grabbed a woman during a robbery attempt.
Liew recalled that some years ago, in a similar incident behind the Sedco Complex in Kg air here, a foreigner stabbed a local woman after grabbing her soon after parking her car.
"It made front page news and the unfortunate woman bled to death. A husband had lost his wife and the children their mother."
And a few months ago, a young boy lost his life outside a night spot in Asia City.
"It is not known if the suspect was a confirmed foreigner but how was he able to walk about in Kota Kinabalu with a weapon?" she queried.
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