No marine security in Sabah waters

Azman Habu

A barge 'transporting a second-hand 32MW turbine generator' was hijacked by armed men off the Sulu sea and this shows Sabah's claims to 'tight security' in its waters is a fallacy.

TAWAU: Both the state and federal governments are again facing the heat over security conditions on the northern and eastern seaboard of Sabah after an attack allegedly by pirates left a barge laden with goods adrift in the Sulu Sea.

Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui said it was surprising that despite assurances of tightened security by Malaysia’s maritime agencies, attacks such as what took place last week were still occurring.

“People have always been concerned about the security of our waters,” Chua said after the tugboat Wantas VI, transporting Tenaga Nasional Bhd equipment for the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd Kubota power plant, was allegedly commandeered by a group of armed men.

Several attacks and high-profile kidnappings have occurred over the years in the east coast and in the waters off the northern-most point of Sabah bordering the Southern Philippines, making the area notorious as a danger zone for tourists.

The latest attack has again raised questions about security and whether the porous border area that is habitually used as a landing and take-off point for illegal immigrants from the neigbouring Philippines and Indonesia is indeed water-tight.

Chua said security was lax and reflected on the Malaysian authorities here who seemed to have no idea about what had happened until they were notified by the Philippines coastguard that a vessel was abandoned and drifting in the waters off Palawan on April 26.

“Time and time again, these attacks showed how easily our waters could be breached by pirates and this does not include the numbers of illegal immigrants who come and go without being disturbed,” she said.

Last month, a stricken luxury cruise ship with over 1,000 people on board limped into Sandakan port after spending more than a day in waters notorious for pirate attacks.

Escorted by two Malaysian patrol vessels, the brightly lit Azamara Quest – an 11-deck cruise ship, carrying 600 passengers, mostly westerners, and 411 crew – suffered an engine-room fire that disabled the engines and left the liner temporarily stranded off the southern Philippines coast.

The fact that the crippled ship did not steer towards the closest port of call raised suspicions here that despite Malaysian assurances, the security level in those water is anything but normal for any type of craft including ocean-going vessels.

Chua said it was surprising that Malaysian security authorities were unaware that the area was not safe from pirate attacks and questioned how the Wantas VI, which was pulling the barge, was singled out while other tugboats and barges also plying the route were left alone.

“The barge was transporting a second-hand 32MW turbine generator which is worth a lot of money and it seemed there was no effort by TNB or SESB to ensure the cargo was secured when it reached the Sulu Sea,” she said.

According to news reports, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sabah commander Admiral M Karumanithi said the seven crewmen of the tugboat – two Malaysians, three Bangladeshis and two Indonesians – appeared weak and dehydrated when they were picked up by Vietnamese fishermen who found them on a raft in the waters off Amboyna in the Brunei Exclusive Economic Zone, about 220 nautical miles northwest of Miri.

Karumanithi said the owners of the tugboat, through their agents, would be working out the details of bringing back the crew members from Vietnam and the barge from the Philippines.

“At the moment, we do not know what exactly happened. We believe the Vietnamese authorities will be taking the crew’s statement,” he was quoted as saying.

Karumanithi believes that the barge was likely to have drifted into Philippines waters after the pirates abandoned it and fled with the tugboat.

“Usually pirates go after tugboats,” he said, adding that the owner last communica­ted with the tugboat captain on April 16 when the vessels were passing Batam, Indonesia.

The Penang-based tugboat operator had informed MMEA about the loss of their tugboat and missing crew on April 26 after the barge was recovered by the Philippine authorities.

Chua said that the latest incident is an embarrassing display that trans-border crime is still rife in Sabah.