KOTA KINABALU: The back-to-back carjacking incidents in the state capital this week necessitate the setting up of a special task force to tackle such cases and car thefts which are becoming rampant, said Inanam assemblyman Dr Roland Chia.
On Monday an eight-year-old student was abducted in a Toyota Vios from SRJK Chung Hwa Likas and the second case yesterday involved the abduction of a 23-year old woman in her purple coloured Myvi car at Alam Mesra.
Dr Roland who is also the PKR Sabah vice chairman, said the internal security within the state seemed to have been compromised whilst the back-to-back episodes of tourists abduction in Semporna in the east coast of Sabah did not reflect well on the security level in Sabah.
He said it was worth noting that since the MH370 saga happened a month ago, Sabah and Malaysia, as a whole, had been put in the limelight by the international community. The people deserved to be protected from the rising crime rate in Sabah and Malaysia.
Dr Roland called on the State Security Council to seriously tackle this problem with immediate effect.
According to him, the most obvious is the lack of security personnel and also the mobile police units patrolling the city of Kota Kinabalu and the state as a whole.
Dr Roland said from the answers given during the last State Assembly sitting, the entire population of Inanam and Kolombong is estimated at around 70,000. There are only 41 police personnel covering the entire area of Inanam and Kolombong. This translates to one policeman serving 1,700 constituents in Inanam and Kolombong (ratio of 1:1,700).
Even in Menggatal and the surrounding areas, with an estimate of 90,000 constituents, there are only 44 police personnel, which is one policeman to 2,050 constituents.
In addition, the Inanam police station has Category B status, which means it is supposed to be armed by 120 police personnel, but at present only 30 per cent of the police force is on guard. The present Inanam police station is very small and congested and there is a pressing need for a proper police station here.
Dr Roland said he would not be in the least surprised if the lack of personnel and facilities was also happening in other parts of Sabah apart from the state constituency of Inanam.
Therefore, he is seeking an explanation from the Home Minister and the State Security Council over these perennial woes in Sabah and Kota Kinabalu City and urged for an immediate solution.
“The public are also taxpayers and ratepayers and they rightly deserved to be protected by the security forces at their workplaces and residences,” he added.