SANDAKAN: A dedicated facility should be established in Sabah to dispose of narcotics and other prohibited substances seized by the authorities, provided the Home Ministry (KDN) agrees to locate such an operation in the State.
Sabah Government Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman Datuk Masiung Banah said there was a strong case for establishing the high-impact security infrastructure in Sabah rather than transporting seized substances to disposal facilities outside the State.
He said a centralised disposal facility in Sabah would significantly reduce logistics costs compared with transporting the substances to Negeri Sembilan.
“Storing large quantities of drugs for extended periods in the Sabah Contingent Police Headquarters’ warehouse could expose the management chain to a higher risk of integrity breaches.” “With a disposal facility in Sabah, prohibited substances such as drugs and chemicals could be disposed of promptly once a court order has been obtained,” he said.
Masiung was speaking to reporters after officiating at the Telupid/Tongod District Education Office Excellent Service Awards ceremony here on Saturday.
He said the BBC believed that transporting large quantities of prohibited substances, including drugs and chemicals seized by the authorities in Sabah, to Peninsular Malaysia for disposal would be a waste of resources.
“If KDN agrees, the BBC is prepared to work with the State Government to identify and provide land for the proposed facility,” he said.
Masiung said the large quantities of prohibited substances seized annually by various agencies, including the police Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID), National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), justified the establishment of a dedicated disposal facility in Sabah.
He said transporting the substances across the sea for disposal could also pose integrity risks along the transportation chain.
The Kuamut assemblyman said the disposal process required specialised transportation and stringent security measures, resulting in high costs for the Government.
He said Sabah’s strategic location within the maritime region bordering Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia had made the State an attractive operating base for syndicates seeking to use it as a transit point for smuggling drugs across borders by sea.
Masiung said statistics showed that the value of drug seizures in Sabah reached millions of ringgit almost every month, with the substantial quantities seized further justifying the need for a local disposal facility.
At the same event, he also presented a four-wheel-drive vehicle to Sekolah Kebangsaan Inarad in Tongod to support the school’s administrative operations.
The vehicle was contributed by Borneo Cement Sabah Sdn Bhd as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. The company is currently developing its operations in Sabah.
