KOTA KINABALU, March 19 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal wants the authorities to continue weeding out suspected terrorists in the state after police announced the arrest of 13 people linked to terrorist organisations here last night.
While commending the police for the arrests, he said the busts also showed that terrorists were hiding in the state.
“We have been very concerned. We had received some reports from police intelligence and the action they were going to take. Action has now been taken and we have to be supportive.
“We must catch any of those who are in our public, and continue to monitor for any others,” he told reporters after attending the launch of a new 2.7km road along Jalan Nountun here today.
Shafie emphasised that action was taken by the police, and not by the Chief Minister’s Department or the state.
Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said police arrested 12 Filipinos and a Malaysian on suspicion of being members of terrorist groups and protecting terrorists in hiding.
The arrests were made on March 11 and 12 based on intelligence developed by the police’s counter-terrorism special division, and those arrested are believed to be linked to extremist organisations such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Maute Group and Royal Sulu Force (RSF).
