Kota Kinabalu: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) will continue and widen a maritime operation to demolish illegal huts on water often exploited by transborder criminals such as kidnappers in the Sulu and Celebes Seas which the nation shares with southern Philippines.
Esscom launched the operation dubbed “Ops Gasak Laut” (Maritime Raid Operation) in Kudat in May.
This time around, the operation would cover the State’s whole eastern 1,400km coastline.
“We still see some pondohan and bagang (traditional wooden fishing huts on water), so we need to take fast action in the near future,” Esscom Commander DCP Hamzah Ahmad told RTM in an interview.
Back in May, Hamzah said the operation in Kudat was an initial step to address the construction of illegal structures in eastern Sabah’s waters.
“Aerial surveillance and field inspections found many illegal huts in the area. This operation will demolish a number of unoccupied huts, apart from issuing eviction notices,” he said then.
Such shacks often used by fishermen are also misused as staging points by kidnappers, robbers and smugglers.
The huts are also used by their spotters to detect the movement of maritime law enforcement authorities.
Sabah’s east coast was designated by the Malaysian Government as the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) under Esscom’s watch after Sulu militants’ bloody incursion into Lahad Datu in 2013.
Some parts of the Esszone are just a short boat ride away from the southern Philippines where most transborder criminals come from.
After Esscom and Esszone’s formation, kidnapping incidents have declined, according to the agency.
The Abu Sayyaf group is often tagged in the kidnap-for-ransom activities.
Hamzah’s RTM interview took place on the sidelines of an Adidiladha sacrificial event in Kudat, organised by Esscom.
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