KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) intends to set up a temporary base in the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), in response to claims that graft is sabotaging security efforts in the porous naval region.

The anti-corruption body said today that the move would facilitate better intelligence gathering as they currently do not have a presence in Lahad Datu, where Esscom is based.

“It is hoped that by temporarily assigning MACC officers (in the area), it would be easier for the public to share information related to corruption,” the commission said in a statement.

Yesterday, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein claimed that corruption is one reason why it has been so difficult to secure the waters off Sabah’s east coast.

He said it was unfair to blame the recent spate of intrusions solely on the lack of physical assets to police the area’s naval borders and coastline, claiming that bribery and leakage of vital inside information are also key factors.

“We have wasted so much time delving into the weaknesses of Esscom. It’s these human factors that need to be carefully and thoroughly investigated,” he was reported as saying.

The MACC today said they took Hishammuddin’s claims seriously and are open to meeting with him, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Esscom officials to discuss how the commission can come into the picture.

Until they finalise the mechanism on how their staff will be deployed, however, the MACC urged the authorities to remove any officer who is proven to have been involved in bribery or information leaks.

Esscom was established not long after the month-long deadly incursion in Lahad Datu by Filipino militants aligned with a claimant of the now-defunct Sulu Sultanate in February last year.

Despite the heightened security presence, there have been a string of kidnappings by militants from the south Philippines, the latest being the abduction of a Chinese national and a Filipina from a resort island off Semporna in April.

Both women have since been freed, with Malaysia maintaining that there was no ransom paid despite conflicting reports from the Philippines claiming that a reduced payout was negotiated to secure their safe release.