PETALING JAYA, June 26 — The recent spate of kidnappings and violence in the east coast of Sabah might be linked to a resurgence of the same militant group behind the bloody armed incursion in Lahad Datu last year, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.
“I think there are some figures that are trying to rebuild their ranks,” Ahmad Zahid told reporters.
He said Sulu militants from southern Philippines have been trying to increase their funding and bolster their numbers after the Lahad Datu incident.
He assured the public that Putrajaya and the Philippines government are working together to ensure that the situation remains under control.
The government launched last month a special operation it dubbed “Ops Gasak” in 10 areas on Sabah’s porous east coast, in a bid to stem the influx of illegal immigrants.
Three abductions have been reported from Sabah since April 2, starting with a tourist from China and a Filipina worker from the Singamata Adventures Reef and Resort in Semporna by a group of seven armed men.
On May 6, five gunmen took a Chinese fish farm manager from Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu.
The latest kidnapping incident occurred last Monday when another Chinese fish farmer was snatched by two armed men in speedboat from Kampung Sapang, west of Pulau Timbun Mata, Kunak.
Such incidents have led to questions over the efficacy of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), set up last year to secure the country’s easternmost borders against foreign intrusions.
The porosity of Sabah’s waters was exposed last January when a group of 200 gunmen from the southern Philippines that proclaimed ties with the now-defunct Sulu sultanate invaded Lahad Datu with the intent to reclaim Sabah.
