KOTA KINABALU, Nov 19 ― Sabah will continue to face threats from southern Philippines militants as long as the local communities keep helping these intruders commit cross border crimes like kidnapping, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said.

The national police chief told Sabahans, especially those living on the east coast, to give the police their cooperation, adding a warning that those identified as complicit in the crimes will face serious action.

“As long as there are enemies within, the east coast of Sabah will never be completely safe. Our responsibility is to identify them, and take action.

“We won't let them continue to live amongst us. If they want to live in Sabah and live in peace and harmony, they have to be loyal to the country, and work with us to ensure our country is peaceful,” said Khalid.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman was reported as saying previously that the kidnapping in Sandakan’s popular seafood restaurant Ocean King in May this year ― the most recent intrusion ― had been an inside job.

The incident saw the restaurant’s manager Thien Nyuk Fun, 50 and customer Bernard Then, 39, taken away to the southern Philippines for ransom. Thien was released on November 8 while Then was believed to have been beheaded on Tuesday.

Police here are still trying to confirm his death through DNA testing.

Khalid said the police are working to build better relations with the local community in the east coast of Sabah.

“Every day we have community policing programmes to share information, build rapport and cooperation with the public. That’s why I ask for all of them to give us cooperation to combat this,” he said, acknowledging the problem.

Khalid, who was in Sabah today to present medals of honour to policemen who served during Ops Daulat, said that the southern Philippines groups will continue to target Sabah for their cross border kidnappings, as it was their main source of income.

“For us, we have to always be on our guard. This year, we thwarted at least eight attempts to infiltrate and come into Sabah to kidnap more hostages. They’re always looking for opportunities,” he said.

Khalid also said that they were aware of the threat of Abu Sayyaf working with elements from the Islamic State within the region and would apply the same approach on all possible terrorist activities.