Why Navy unable to do much: Chief

LUMUT: The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) wants the security forces protecting Sabah waters to be allowed to "shoot on sight", any suspicious targets encroaching the country's maritime borders.Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar in mooting this proposal said this was to prevent terrorists from the southern Philippines from terrorising the state.

Abdul Aziz said existing laws do not allow for security forces to 'shoot on sight', and this had prevented security forces, including the navy from to wiping out such attempts completely.

He said in the past his men had the perfect opportunity to do so but was forced to hold back.

"It is time the Attorney General revisit the matter to make it easier for the security management in the Sabah coast.

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"Otherwise, they (the terrorists) will continue to evade arrests," he said.

The group of armed men which ambushed and killed a marine policeman in Pulau Mabul, two days ago is believed to have been involved in a kidnapping in Sabah's east coast.

According to a Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) source, the group has been identified and Esscom was working with the Philippine authorities and public to strengthen the evidence.

It also said ESSCom would consider publishing photographs of the suspects to enable the public to recognise them, eventually leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.

It was previously reported that Esscom intelligence division director Datuk Ahmad Nadzer Nordin had said that based on intelligence network, there were 14 kidnapping groups from southern Philippines.

Of the number, at least four had carried out kidnappings in Sabah's east coast, he said. The source also said Esscom received good cooperation from the Philippine authorities which ordered its marine police force to track down the suspects in its waters.

Esscom operations director Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said the security forces were ordered to step up security at resorts in Sabah's east coast.

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Zakia is the fourth kidnap victim in Sabah this year.

On April 2, a group of seven armed men abducted a female Chinese tourist and female Filipino worker from the Singamata Adventures Reef and Resort in Semporna. A month later, five armed men kidnapped a Chinese national, who is also a manager of a caged-fish breeding company in Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu. All three victims were rescued.

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