Sabah's east coast curfew extended for the 11th time

KOTA KINABALU - A wide range of security threats, including a possibility of attacks on isolated police bases, has prompted the extension of the dawn-to-dusk sea curfew in eastern Sabah.

“Our intelligence also indicates that there are plans to bomb petrol and police stations, among other key facilities,” Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said.

Announcing the extension of the 7pm-to-5am sea curfew from Jan 11 to Jan 25, he said police had received intelligence reports claiming that extremist elements were planning to attack police bases in the east coast of the state.

“We are taking precautionary steps to counter any such threats,” he said after the monthly police gathering at the Kepayan state police headquarters yesterday.

Jalaluddin said police had also received information that cross-border kidnap-for-ransom groups and other criminal elements were hiding in islands close to Sabah waters, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

However, he said these reports were still being verified while police maintained high alert in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone that covers 10 districts from northern Kudat to south-eastern Tawau.

He said the curfew, which started on July 19 last year after three kidnappings in Lahad Datu, Semporna and Kunak, was to ensure the safety of the people in Sabah, as well as to prevent cross-border crime.

“We also received requests from fishermen, tour operators and even tourists to continue the curfew because they felt safer with its implementation,” he said.