KOTA KINABALU - The Federal government owes the people of Sabah a truthful explanation to a litanny of questions on why it failed to provide adequate security for Sabah, said former chief minister Yong Teck Lee.
“What has happened to the deployment of “seven battalions of police and army” for Esszone and why has Putrajaya failed to provide the logistics, manpower and resources desperately needed for Esscom (Eastern Sabah Security Command)?
“Was the spate of shootings of 46 commercial premises in the state capital (Kota Kinabalu) in January linked to last year’s Lahad Datu Tanduo intrusion?” he asked.
Yong, who is also president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), lamented that the people of Sabah and the Chief Minister were being fed with yet another round of promises and big talk of actions, beefing up of military assets, co-operation with the Philippines and so on by the federal government.
“It is high time that the Malaysian authorities disclose whether the armed bandits are actually Abu Sayaff or are ex-operatives of MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) or MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) or are “lost commands” of the disbanded MNLF/MILF forces.
“Are the high-powered weapons used by the gunmen supplied or sold by elements of the Philippines military?
“Are there elements in the Philippines military involved in the kidnappings?
“Why has it been impossible for the Philippines authorities to take actions against these gunmen within their territory?” he further questioned.
He also took a swipe at the Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the latter only showed up in Lahad Datu long after the foreign gunmen had fled back to the Philippines with their victims.
“The Home Minister and his top brass from Putrajaya heroically showed up at Lahad Datu accompanied by an impressive force of police VAT 69 commandoes and not less than four truck loads of fully armed soldiers and countless undercover agents in a town now familiar with road blocks and low flying surveillance aircraft that appear each time a government minister drops by,” noted Yong.
Yong, who recently accepted Zahid’s challenge to slap him if he comes unaccompanied to the east coast, said the latest cross-border abduction deep in Malaysian territory had lwft the latter with a “black eye and bloody nose”.
On a related note Yong said he was still waiting execute Zahid’s dare to him and collect the RM501 offered.
Zahid had challenged Yong to slap him for RM501. His offer of RM501 was RM1 more than the RM500 earlier offered by Yong to anybody who slaps Zahid on his next visit to Sabah over his ineffecient command.
Yong had said that he will donate the RM501 from Zahid to the Tabung Wira Lahad Datu (Lahad Datu Heroes Fund) for the benefit of the families of the fallen heroes who were sacrificed in defending Sabah during the Lahad Datu Tanduo intrusion in March 2013.
“If Ahmad Zahid keeps his promise to pay the RM501 upon being slapped, I am confident that Sabahans will contribute more than 10 times to the Fund,” he had reportedly said.
Queville To
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