KOTA KINABALU, Nov 13 — Security officials here could make flare guns required equipment aboard seafaring vessels here along with the installation of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) for safety purposes.

Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said flare guns would allow boatmen to immediately alert authorities in the event of an emergency such as attacks by kidnappers or pirates.

“Flare guns can be fired by the fishermen when attacked by pirates or kidnappers,” he said, adding that pirates or kidnappers generally disable a boat’s communications system soon after attacking.

“It is under discussion and subject to approval,” he said when speaking to reporters after a briefing session with state leaders at the state legislative assembly here today.

Hazani said this was among the steps discussed to improve security and speed up response time during an emergency at sea.

Esscom and police have been urging vessel owners to install AIS for years now and Hazani said it will be made mandatory as soon as the state government gives its approval.

Hazani also said that the security council was still discussing the safety guidelines and standard operating procedure involved in lifting the ban on pump boats in Sabah, which is expected to come into effect next year.

Among the guidelines is to re-register pump boats and their owners, apply colour zoning on pump boats, and to take immediate action when pump boats are used by illegal immigrants or non-owners.

“We want to allow pump boats to be used only by registered Malaysians for purposes including fishing and as a transport within an area. This is to make it easy to detect foreign pump boats coming into Sabah.

“If an immigrant is found to be using a local’s pump boat, then the owner will also have his licence revoked,” Hazani said.

Pumps boat are favoured by kidnappers and pirates for their speed but also widely used by small time fishermen and aqua farmers as well as local sea nomads.

The ban on pump boats came after a spate of kidnappings in Sabah’s east coast but the move came under criticism for disrupting the livelihoods of the locals.

He said the Esscom is also reviewing police patrols and other security posts around the Eastern Sabah Security Zone to prevent loopholes and overlap of duties.