Sabah extends sea curfew over Abu Sayaff Group threat

From the Manila Times (Sep 3): Sabah extends sea curfew over Abu Sayaff Group threat

Persistent threats posed by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) prompted Sabah to extend its sea curfew over the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) covering three nautical miles off the border of Tawi-Tawi’s chain of islands.

Malaysian media reported that the Sabah’s dusk-to-dawn sea curfew has been extended by yet another two weeks to September 13 over Tawau, Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Sandakan and Beluran.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said the decision to extend the curfew, first imposed four years ago, came based on continuous threats from cross-border criminals, including kidnap-for-ransom groups and the Abu Sayyaf.

“There is a need to continue the curfew in these waters to prevent the encroachment of terrorists and criminals who can threaten the safety of locals, international researchers and tourists on the islands,” the Star Online quoted the official as saying.

He said: “We also want to ensure the safety of the people of Sabah who use the waters and are staying near the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone.”

Ramli added that the curfew was to facilitate enforcement and monitoring of boat activities in the area, as well as to establish a sense of security for nearby chalet owners and fishermen through the presence of a security team.

The curfew was first implemented on July 19, 2014, following a series of kidnapping incidents which saw the beheading of Bernard Then Ted Fed, a Sarawakian, and the killing of several others, including a policeman and tourists.

Just last month, a group of at least 10 gunmen attempted to abduct a tugboat crew near Lahad Datu’s Tambisan area in Sabah. But the crew locked themselves in a room and quickly radioed for help that patrolling members of the Esscom responded immediately forcing the gunmen to escape. It said the armed men, believed from southern Philippines, sneaked into Sabah and boarded the tugboat on the evening of August 9.

Esscom commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said the crew were ferrying palm oil from Felda Sabahat in Tengku and on their way to Kuantan when the gunmen came alongside their boat in Tambisan waters near the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands.

Malaysia and Indonesia have a border patrol agreement with the Philippines and share regular intelligence and conduct trilateral maritime patrols to prevent piracy and terrorism, including ransom kidnappings of sailors in the maritime borders.

The military has said that security is tight in the border to prevent Abu Sayyaf kidnappings inside Sabah or in the waters of Tawi-Tawi frequented by cargo boats.

https://www.manilatimes.net/sabah-extends-sea-curfew-over-abu-sayaff-group-threat/437414/