115 paperless people stopped from entering

Kota Kinabalu: The authorities have stopped at least 115 people from sneaking into Sabah’s east coast in long boats (jongkong) and speedboats.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali (pic) said security forces detected these outsiders on Thursday near Sandakan waters.

“Our intelligence believed these people were trying to enter the state to vote.

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“We are not denying them their rights but if they use the back door and did not go through a proper health check-up, we need to stop them in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” he said.

Comm Hazani said the situation was complicated in Sabah’s east coast, which is near the Philippines, and that some citizens with relatives there tend to travel back and forth.

On Friday, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said elements from a neighbouring country were believed to be hiding in islands outside Sabah waters, waiting for the right time to breach the border and cause disruption to the state polls.

Acryl Sani gave an assurance that Malaysian security forces were constantly monitoring movements at the border.

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Prior to this, Sabah’s east coast has always been grappling with illegals trying to enter the state via sea routes.

While some of them look for better job opportunities, there were also threats from cross-border criminals.

Comm Hazani said some 7,000 policemen were assigned to manage the state election while 1,890 personnel, comprising the Armed Forces, police and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, were guarding the border under Ops Benteng.

On another matter, he said they received 193 police reports in relation to election offences when the campaigning period ended on Friday.

Out of these, 58 investigation papers were opened, mostly involving defamation using social media.