Junaidi slammed for 'close shop' remark
Published on: Sunday, April 06, 2014
Kota Kinabalu: The suggestion by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar for far-flung resorts in Sabah to cease operations has been roundly criticised by both the Barisan Nasional and opposition. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said he was not even sure whether Junaidi knows where Singamata Resort is located. "It is not on an isolated island, it is on a reef not more than 1.5km from the town of Semporna," said Masidi, Saturday. Wan Junaidi when commenting on the abduction of two women from the resort by a kidnap-for-ransom gang on Wednesday, said critics should not blame the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) for the incident.
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"If it were up to me, I would say resorts on small, isolated islands should be closed. "No one can guarantee the safety of these places when they are situated far off the coast. The police and military can't be there all the time," Wan Junaidi was quoted as saying. Masidi said that while it is true that there is no 100 per cent guarantee of safety, and none anywhere in the world, it is not an excuse for those in authority to wash their hands off the problem by suggesting a lame excuse. "The fact that it happened literally a stone's throw from the town of Semporna, should make the authority do some serious soul-searching on whether the current security arrangement will address similar incidents in the future," he said.
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On Wednesday, a 29-year-old Chinese tourist Gao Hua Yuan and 40-year-old Filipina resort employee Marcy Dayawan were abducted by a group of seven armed men from the Singamata Adventure and Reef Resort some 10 minutes boat ride from Semporna town. It was a second such incident in four months. On Nov. 15, 2013, a Taiwanese tourist was shot dead and his female companion abducted by an armed group at the Pom-Pom Island Resort located some 14 nautical miles off Semporna.
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The woman was released 35 days later, after an undisclosed ransom amount was reportedly paid, to secure her freedom. The incident was also attributed to a kidnap-for-ransom group. Masidi also believes the impact of the incident would be felt over the short term. "Definitely there will be an impact, but I believe it would be a short term (impact)," he said, adding that the Government's main focus now is on search and rescue of the two hostages. "We need to give sufficient time to the security authorities to track down and rescue them (victims)Éwe need to focus on the two victims concerned, it is not the right time to talk about business matter, like the impact of this incident on the industry," he said. The question on whether to close or not the resort involved is yet to arise as investigations are still underway, said Masidi after he represented the Chief Minister at the State Education Department's Academic Excellence Recognition (Mekar) ceremony at Pacific Sutera, Friday. According to Masidi, he has instructed the Federal Tourism and Culture Department Sabah Director to inspect all the resorts and ensure all their workers are registered and have documents."I still receive reports of illegal or undocumented workers, which should not be the case. "After the Tanduo (intrusion) incident, I have had a meeting with all operators of island resorts and one of the decisions made was that we give instructions to all the operators concerned to ensure they have the names and background details of all their workers. If the workers are foreigners they must have a valid work permit," said Masidi. "Whichever operator failed to comply the related licensing authority must take the necessary action," he added. Sabah DAP Vice Chief Chan Foong Hin said the statement by Junaidi is equivalent to killing off Semporna's tourism industry. "He is making a fool of himself again and this time by suggesting to close down resorts on remote islands in Semporna waters due to security risks," he said.Chan, who is also Sri Tanjung Assemblyman, said it was totally unacceptable for a Deputy Minister to suggest "this kind of silly jokes.""Is he also suggesting to close down MAS, since no one can guarantee the safety of passengers, like the still missing Flight MH370? Is he going to ask all the banks to close down, as no one can guarantee the safety of customers if a robbery happens?" Chan asked.He said Wan Junaidi did not know the implications of his statement."Wan Junaidi never does his homework before issuing statements. Singamata, the resort where kidnapping incident happened, is not located on a remote island. "It takes 10 minutes boat ride to the mainland. "If the armed men believed to have come from the Philippines can reach Singamata it means any militant can attack Sabah from Semporna. "How can our Deputy Minister defend Esscom's failure by saying that the police and military can't be there all the time? It's not resort operators' duty to beef up the security, but the Federal Government to safeguard our security," he said.Chan who had earlier called for the resignation of Esscom Director General Datuk Mohammad Mentek now also called on Junaidi to resign immediately to acknowledge failure to carry out duties to protect security in Sabah. "If they don't bow to Sabah's anger, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should instruct them to do so, in order to restore public confidence towards the BN Federal Government," he said.PKR Sabah Deputy Chairperson, Christina Liew, described Junaidi's suggestion as "foolish and senseless". She expressed surprise that a Minister of his stature could come up with such an idea."What if the abductors turn their attention to resorts on the mainland, knowing our occasional lax in security? Going by his suggestion of closure, does it mean that the city and town resorts in future should also cease operating when that happens?" she asked in a statement.Liew, who is Api-Api Assemblywoman, stressed that what Dr Wan Junaidi should do within his power is get the Federal Government to allocate more financial resources to Sabah for greater enforcement of the law and to intensify the level of security so that Wedneday's abduction near Semporna will not be repeated."Instead, the Deputy Home Minister's suggestion was tantamount to surrendering our far flung islands to those who show the slightest aggression and are basically bandits."For him to say that the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) could not provide round-the-clock protection to small, isolated islands is very demoralising to operators of resorts in remote locations off Sabah."It is like throwing in the towel in the face of adversity without making any effort to formulate strategies to address the problem," she said.Liew also took the opportunity to query the police investigations into the "shooting spree" where more than 50 premises in KK, Penampang, Kolombong and Inanam had their window panels shot at and splintered."The public are still in the dark about the incident. All we know is that the purported perpetrators have been released due to lack of evidence. This is rather strange. No wonder certain quarters are so brave as to keep on challenging the effectiveness of our security personnel," she lamented.Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chief Publicity Officer Albert Kok said Junaidi's suggestion to close resorts on small, isolated islands is senseless and unconstructive. He said many resorts in our country are located on islands or beaches and that Wan Junaidi had not taken the interests of travel operators into account when making the suggestion. "2014 is Visit Malaysia Year. And the travel industry is an important sector of our economy. Junaidi's suggestion is senseless and unconstructive," Kok said in a statement. Wan Junaidi had also said that Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) could not guarantee the safety of resorts that operated offshore on isolated islands. KOK said the Singamata Reef Resort was not even 1.5km from Semporna, and thus was not isolated. More importantly, Kok said the police and military should intensify their patrol at high-risk areas to ensure no intruders could encroach our waters. At the same time, enforcement efforts should be stepped up to ensure no foreigners without proper documentation are working in resorts, he said. Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Wanita Chief, Melanie Chia, said instead of making unwitting suggestions like closing down all island resorts, Junaidi should at least push for an early release of the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah.She said it was pertinent to know the findings of the RCI early in view of the statement by Sabah Police Chief Datuk Hamza Taib on Friday that the abduction was likely an "inside" job.She said the long-term solution to peace and security in Sabah was highly dependent on the outcome on the RCI. As for SAPP, she said the party had since the 1990s been calling the Government to resolve the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah and has dubbed the issue as the Mother of All Threats for Sabah.As to the call by the Chief Minister for all efforts to be directed to resolve the abduction which happened on Wednesday, Chia stressed this efforts should include the seriousness and the commitment to resolve the long term peace and security issue in Sabah.Chia said Junaidi was being highly irresponsible to suggest that resorts operating in remote locations off Sabah should cease operation because he thinks the security forces could not provide round the clock protection to these far-flung locations."It is unbelievable that such utterance is made by a Deputy Minister! It is also a wonder if the Deputy Minister had first tried to understand the condition before he made the utterance. "How could he not know that the resort where the abduction happened is only a 5-10 minute boat ride from Semporna town," she said in statement.Chia condemned the suggestion and that the Government cannot shrug off its responsibility just like that. "Its like saying the Deputy Minister should cut off his hand if his hand is immobilised."Shouldn't he think of how to heal his hand instead? If he cannot discharge his duty, he should let somebody else who is more capable take over. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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