DAP alleges misuse of power by Esscom
Published on: Friday, May 22, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: DAP Deputy Chairman Stephen Wong, who is Sandakan MP, said the latest kidnapping was different from previous because it happened on the mainland, at a restaurant filled with patrons."Even with the curfew order enforced, terrorists still succeeded in entering our border easily, it seems as though our security enforcement such as police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) among others are toothless tigers."This is especially saddening when Sandakan has its own police base, marine base, navy and MMEA base which is supposed to make it close to impossible for such incidents to take place.
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"I am surprised how this could happen again and again despite the setting up of Esscom which involved a huge amount of government money," he said. "I propose five initiatives which I hope could assist the government improve security in Sabah," he said. "First, the government must take a more aggressive and offensive measure to stop perpetrators through international cooperation including working together with the Philippines government. "Do not only wait and defend without taking further action, do not let these terrorist groups continue to challenge the sovereignty of Sabah and our security enforcement," he said.
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Second, he said, is to increase the number of assets and equipment of the security enforcement team, such as adding assault helicopters, Automatic Identification System, radar and more sophisticated equipment."I am surprised when the Chief Minister only requested for the N3 helicopter, when such equipment should have been delivered to the State much earlier. Sophisticated equipment is important to ensure our safety," he said.
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"Third, the government must address illegal immigrant issues in Sabah, not only should they stop illegal immigrants from coming to Sabah but they should also check all documents particularly since there are claims that many illegal immigrants have obtained citizenship through dubious means. The government should re-issue documents to real Sabahans and withdraw documents which were obtained illegally by illegal immigrants. And also to issue work permit to only foreign workers who have valid documents. "Fourth, to address the sovereignty issue between Sabah and the Philippines, so that certain quarters from the neighbouring country do not see Sabah as their country. Recently, the Philippines President still stressed that they will not give up their claims over Sabah," he said. "I think this should be solved at the root in a holistic manner , so that intrusion problems will end forever," he said. "Fifth, as mentioned in a memorandum by the Pakatan Rakyat following the kidnapping in Semporna last year in which they proposed for equal distribution of military assets and for at least half the assets to be distributed to Sabah in view of the threats which is not only a threat to the State but to the sovereignty of the country. "It is important to look into where Esscom failed, in my opinion, this is the attitude of our leaders who are proud and irresponsible. For example, Esscom Commander issued an insensitive statement 'Sabah is still safe because kidnapping only happens once every year' and also a minister said 'the kidnapping took place when there was a change in police work shift'. "All this statements shows their irresponsible attitude, they only know how to find excuses to avoid being blamed. "Apart from that, there are thousands of squatter settlements occupied by illegal immigrants in Sandakan, why are arrests only done in the town area, industrial and factories only, disrupting businesses? Are the security enforcement supposed to conduct operation in squatter settlement and borders as well? I hope the operations procedure could be reviewed," he said. "I received complains that Esscom personnel are suspected to be involved in misuse of power such as blocking doors to business premises, is it relevant for armed security personnel to enter business premises causing business operators and their workers to get frightened. "Second, Esscom enforcement has also misused their power when they detain foreign workers, regardless if they have permit or not, all foreign workers are rounded up and this disturbs businesses," he said. He also claimed that there are rumours that after the foreign workers are detained, there are enforcers who threatened them to pay a certain amount for their release. "Third, it is misuse of manpower when it takes 40 armed Esscom personnel working together with the Sandakan Municipal Council to close down a restaurant just because it did not have a trading licence. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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