LAHAD DATU, Sept 21 — The Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) is safe and under control, Commander of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) Datuk Ahmad Fuad Othman said.
He said ESSCom, which consists of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Armed Forces (ATM) and the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), will always be prepared and is actively conducting patrols to maintain security in the area.
Ahmad Fuad said inspections and show-of-presence patrols were being carried out to prevent terrorist groups or cross-border criminals from entering the country’s waters to commit kidnapping crime.
“Most people think that it is not safe. It’s nothing like that. It is in in fact safe and under control,” he told Bernama at ESSCom headquarters here recently.
On the kidnapping for ransom cases, Ahmad Fuad said only 10 cases were recorded in the last 10 years, an average of one kidnapping case per year.
The ESSZone curfew, which is effective from 6pm to 6am, covers the waters of Beluran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau.
-BERNAMA