Curfew extended to June 17

The police have extended to June 17 the dusk-to-dawn curfew in the waters off eastern Sabah. Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said today Phase 21 of the curfew would be in force from 7pm to 5am beginning tomorrow.

Phase 20 of the curfew ends today. The curfew was imposed on July 19 last year. He said the decision to extend the curfew was driven by the security situation in eastern Sabah as well as requests from various quarters, including operators of chalets and fishermen.

“The decision (to extend the extend) was made based on the need to ensure the security and well-being of people using the eastern Sabah waters, tourists as well as the people of Sabah in the Esszone (Eastern Sabah Security Zone),” he said in a statement.

The curfew would facilitate enforcement by the security forces, including monitoring of boats attempting to breach the border and checking cross-border crime such as smuggling of drugs and firearms, he said.

Jalaluddin said all district police chiefs in the Esszone were empowered to issue permits to fishermen and others in need if they had to be in the eastern Sabah waters during the curfew hours.-- BERNAMA