Sea Check Point: Esscom to resubmit application
Published on: Thursday, September 05, 2019
By: Efa Rizan
LAHAD DATU: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) will resubmit its Sea Check Point (SCP) application to the Home Ministry for approval.
Its Commander DCP Datuk Hazani Ghazali said the application has received full support from the State Government.
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He said they want the setting up of the SCP to be gazetted with the law to make it compulsory for vessels coming to Sabah for barter trade purposes to go through it.
He said legal action could be taken if vessels leaving the country were found to have failed to go through the SCP.
“The State Government had in 2001 issued designated routes for Philippine and Indonesian commercial and passenger boats in Sabah’s waters. But once these vessels go out of the routes, we cannot take action because we have not made it through the law,” he said.
Therefore, Hazani said, the SCP would have to be legalised or it would not work.
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He also said the SCP would be created in every district involved in the barter trade business.
He also said he agreed that all pump boats should be registered for security purposes and suggested that they be painted according to each district to facilitate authorities in identifying them.
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Meanwhile, Hazani called on the maritime community, particularly fishermen, to immediately report anything suspicious seen in Malaysian waters so that the authorities can take appropriate action.
Referring to the shooting incident that took place in the Felda Sahabat waters on Tuesday night, he said he had been informed that the community in the area did indeed observe that the suspects in the incident had been hovering in the waters for several days but failed to inform security forces, particularly Esscom, about this.
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