KOTA KINABALU : With the
east coast of Sabah being turned into a military command, Sabahans must brace
themselves for the long haul in overcoming the security threats faced by Sabah,
said former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
"Security operations of
this nature can last up to 20 years, or one generation, because of the
inherently delicate tasks of identifying who the real enemies are in this
troubled region of East ASEAN, particularly the Southern Philippines," he
noted.
He cited for instance, in
the Southern Philippines, the Moros fought the Spanish conquerors for 300 years
and then the Americans for 50 years before having to fight their Northern
rulers in Manila for another 50 years until the present day, without any sign
of a long lasting solution in spite of peace agreements like the Tripoli accord
of 1976 and with the MNLF in 1996 and with MILF in 2012.
He told the reporters this
when approached at the mobile service booth of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)
in Gaya Street here Sunday, when asked for comment on Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Tun Razak's announcement in Lahad Datu last Friday, on the establishment
of a special security area (SSA) in Sabah to safeguard the sovereignty and
security of the state's east coast.
Najib said the Sabah Special
Security Area encompassed the districts of Kudat, Tawau, Kunak, Sandakan,
Semporna and Lahad Datu.
Yong who is also President
of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) pointed out for all intents and purposes, the
East Coast Security Area is an "Eastern Command" that by its nature
is meant for the long haul like the Sarawak Rajang Security Command (RASCOM) in
the 1970s to combat communists and Philippines's Southern Command to combat
separatists.
He added that this is a slap
in the face of Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein who had assured
the people that the intruders are not militant and not violent.
He also opined that the
Sulu-led armed intrusion from the Southern Philippines has crossed a point of
no return.
"The use of our air
force fighter jets bombing enemies within Sabah's shores, the first ever in
Sabah, is a turning point in how Malaysia has decided to face this security threat,"
he said.
The deployment to Sabah of
five battalions of security forces and an unannounced number of support
personnel and equipment confirms his view that Malaysia's security forces have
the capability to repel this incursion, he further noted.
Meanwhile, he also expressed
regret that four weeks into the conflict, none of the district security
committees have been activated.
"Whereas the State
government can only churn out rhetorical statements like "things under
control" and "do not listen to rumours", thousands of local
Sabahan villagers around ground zero at Lahad Datu have become war refugees
with insufficient food, medical help and shelter.
"It seems that our
government leaders are at a loss in handling the current crisis arising from
the conflict at Lahad Datu," he said.
(SAPP Media)
No comments:
Post a Comment