Investigate why Fed Govt has failed Sabah

KOTA KINABALU - Long after the foreign gunmen have fled back to the Philippines with their victims, the Home Minister and his top brass from Putrajaya heroically showed up at Lahad Datu accompanied by an impressive force of police VAT 69 commandoes and not less than four truck loads of fully armed soldiers and countless undercover agents in a town now familiar with road blocks and low flying surveillance aircraft that appear each time a government minister drops by. The Home Minister has been given a “black eye and bloody nose” by the latest cross-border abduction deep in Malaysian territory.

The people of Sabah, and our helpless Chief Minister, are fed with yet another round of promises and big talk of actions, beefing up of military assets, co-operation with the Philippines and so on by the federal government.

It is high time that the Malaysian authorities disclose whether the armed bandits are actually Abu Sayaff or are ex-operatives of MILF or MNLF or are "lost commands" of the disbanded MNLF/MILF forces.

Are the high-powered weapons used by the gunmen supplied or sold by elements of the Philippines military? Are there elements in the Philippines military involved in the kidnappings? Why has it been impossible for the Philippines authorities to take actions against these gunmen within their territory?

The authorities should further investigate why the federal government has failed to provide adequate security for Sabah, what has happened to the deployment of "seven battalions of police and army" for ESSZONE and why has Putrajaya failed to provide the logistics, manpower and resources desperately needed for ESSCOM?

Was the spate of shootings of 46 commercial premises in the State capital in January linked to last year's Lahad Datu Tanduo intrusion?

Datuk Yong Teck Lee
Kota Kinabalu, Friday 9 May 2014