Initial police investigations revealed that the duo, in their 30s and 50s, had arrived from Kota Kinabalu and attempted an armed robbery in the area.
In the 5pm incident, a police team intercepted a vehicle in which the two men were travelling. At that juncture, the duo tried to resist and the police were forced to open fire, killing them on the spot.
According to a police source, police surveillance on the two men about a few weeks ago had revealed that they tried to recruit new members, spread the so-called Sulu Sultanate ideology in Sabah, as well as preached elements of violence.
"The suspects, who came from Kota Kinabalu, were also attempting to commit an armed robbery in the area.
"The police are now tracking down the remnants of this group and they are also believed to be getting active off the east coast of Sabah," he said when contacted.
In February last year, the country was stunned when armed Sulu rebels from southern Philippines intruded into Lahad Datu and Semporna in Sabah's east coast, which saw 10 members of the national security forces killed.
However, through a joint army and police operation, dubbed Operasi Daulat, the rebels were routed. More than 100 rebels were killed and hundreds of their followers captured in the state.
Following the incident, the Government set up a security shield to thwart violations, kidnapping and smuggling in Sabah, named Esszone (Eastern Sabah Security Zone) and Esscom (Eastern Sabah Security Command).
Meanwhile in Penampang, residents panicked when they heard gunshots in the business district of Penampang Baru.
A man in his 30s, who declined to be identified, said he was busy at work in a food store when he heard a loud thud.
"I rushed out of the shop and saw a group of armed men wearing ski-masks and firing shots in the direction of some occupants in a four-wheel drive vehicle," he said.
The food store employee, who was hiding in the vicinity, said he also spotted a group of policemen arriving at the scene about 15 minutes later and inspecting the bodies of two men who were earlier, gunned down in the vehicle.
He said he also saw the police take the bodies away in two black plastic bags.
A survey found that the police had cordoned off two business blocks to prevent the public from entering the area. – Bernama
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Sabah cops investigating link between dead robbers and Sulu militants
Though police are stressing that the duo a "Malaysian" and Filipino with refugee status were suspected robbers, they did not however deny outright that the duo might be part of the Sulu elements operating in Sabah.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman told a press conference on Friday that police suspect the duo were part of a group of robbers involved in at least three armed robberies more then RM1mil in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Tuaran.
"They are robbery suspects," he stressed amid social media and WhatsApp reports claiming that the duo were part of the Sulu terror movement bent to create disturbance around Sabah.
Jalaluddin, who did not identify the suspects, said they were both Filipinos though one of them was in possession of a Malaysian identity card. The Filipino had a passport from the Philippines. Their ages were put at 42 and 50.
"We are verifying the authenticity of the IC," he said as he described various social media messages as perception and speculative.
One message purportedly from the police had identified the duo as Malaysian Ismail Muksin, 45-year-old from Kg Likas here who is known as Panglima Alex while the second suspect was identified as a Filipino refugee (holding Immigration pass IMM13 issued to Filipino refugees) from Labuan Husin Esmail, 50, who goes with the name Panglima Husin.
Jalaluddin, however, said that they were investigating the claims in the social media and did not rule out the possibility that duo had links to Sulu elements.
On the 4pm shooting incident, Jalaluddin said that police were trailing the suspects who were in a Isuzu DMax four-wheel drive as police received information that the duo were planning to strike a bank or a goldsmith shop.
As they reached the township, the trailing police party intercepted the suspect’s vehicle before confronting them.
"One of the policemen from the trailing vehicles went up to the suspects and introduced himself as a police officer, and a waiting policemen shouted ‘pistol’ when the latter saw the suspect’s accomplice taking out a pistol," he said.
"A shootout occurred after that and the two suspects were killed. Luckily, none of our men were injured in the incident," Jalaluddin said adding that police had been monitoring these men for several weeks.
Police recovered a Browning pistol with an empty casing inside the chamber and two empty shells inside the vehicle - the Star
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