KOTA KINABALU: When it comes to security, nothing should be treated as an “isolated case”.
Such a mindset among the Federal leaders should stop, stressed Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat chief Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukin, adding that the people of Sabah deserve better protection and security.
“We support the setting up of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM), and in fact, it should have been done long time ago, but we question where they were when all this was happening? Our waters were once again penetrated, and this time, a foreign tourist was shot to death and his wife kidnapped. We fear that if this continues, foreign visitors will lose interest to spend their holidays here out of fear for their lives,” said the Klias Assemblyman.
He said that the recent murder-and-kidnap incident was not supposed to be categorised as an isolated case as it involved tourists from Taiwan.
“The government must step up their security forces and strength to ensure that the borders are secured. We must not allow a repeat of such incidences as we need to protect the tourism sector in Sabah … for now, our security is weak. The recent case is proof of that and a wake up call that we must do something fast,” he said.
He also described Malaysia as a ‘unique’ nation, adding, “Malaysia is a country that will wait for something to happen before reacting. Take the Lahad Datu intrusion for example, the top leadership had been notified but they failed to react quickly because they thought it was nothing. It was only after the intruders showed that they meant what they said, that the federal government started to jump.
“We should not wait for an accident to happen and then build overhead bridges … so the same goes with hot spots in Sabah such as Lahad Datu and Semporna. We already had kidnapping cases in the islands before, and that should be a lesson to the government. It is a signal that we need to tackle this issue fast before it gets worse.”
The issue of security on the east coast resurfaced when 57-year-old Taiwanese tourist, Lim Min Hsu, was found lifeless along a corridor at a resort in Pom-Pom Island with gunshot wounds to his chest and ribs, while his wife, An Wei Chang, 58, was abducted by gunmen on Friday.
Police are working around the clock to track down the woman and her kidnappers.
The couple, who were among 54 guests at the resort, had been in the state for vacation since November 12 and were scheduled to return home next Wednesday (November 20).