KOTA KINABLU: Members of the public have reacted angrily to the innocent killing of a van driver by a robber in Inanam on Saturday.
They called on the government and political parties in the state to resolve the illegal immigrants problem immediately to prevent more innocent lives of locals from being taken away.
Joni Somudin was shot at when he refused to send the robber after he robbed RM15,000 worth of gold from a goldsmith’s shop.
The Borneo Post has been receiving angry reactions from readers condemning the ruthless murder and criticising the authorities for not doing enough to protect the security of the local people from the threat of foreign population.
One of the responses was received from this angry citizen who wrote:
“I’m writing with sadness. My deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and children of Joni Somudin who was innocently shot dead by an illegal Filipino robber who robbed the goldsmith’s shop in Inanam township last Saturday.
“At the time of the fateful day, Joni was waiting for his workers near the goldsmith’s shop where the robber forced Joni to drive him with the gold worth RM15,000 that he had robbed from the shop. Joni refused, then the robber shot him!
“Had the Barisan Nasional (BN) government not playing games like a circus with the illegal immigrants whom many are armed and have guns, Joni and many others like Norjan Khan and Elizabeth Wong (a snatch theft victim sometime ago if we all remember) would not have died in such a cruel manner.
“The problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah has not been solved for the past 35 years. Like a lame sportsman who will never win a trophy, the same goes to leaders of political parties who only talk and talk like a circus with empty promises.
“Sabah will continue to be haunted by this problem unless a family member of a politician is killed by an illegal immigrant.
“I would like to urge the family of Joni Somudin to sue the government and the police for allowing illegal immigrants to roam freely in the state. Lawyers out there should be more accommodative by giving free legal service when it comes to cases like this nature.
“As for leaders of PBS, PBRS, UPKO, LDP, MCA and Gerakan, I challenge all of you to leave the BN government if the problem remains unresolved.”
The second letter received through the e-mail stated, “The problem of illegal immigrants in Inanam has been glaringly obvious all those years and yet nothing has been done to curb the matter.
“At every nook and corner of the town, illegals – young and old – are blatantly selling illegal contraband to the public.
“A few days ago, the life of a breadwinner, a husband, a father and a son, was brutally and senselessly lost simply because it is no longer safe to be out and about in town and at times, even at home.
“The message from this incident and many more incidents before this is loud and clear and yet nothing concrete is being done.
To the people in the higher authorities, the loss of this simple man’s life may not be as tragic but to his family, his loss will affect their future drastically.
“Even the blind will be conscious of the presence of the illegal immigrants if they walk around Inanam town and we are ‘thankful’ to note that those in power are ‘blessed’ with good eyesights and yet, what are they doing so far about the problems that are “visibly” obvious?
“Are they waiting for something more ‘significant’ to happen before they carry a massive full-scale operation to seriously counter the problem?
“We, the public, never fail to notice that whenever there are ‘operations’ going on, only a handful are being rounded up while during ‘normal’ days, large numbers of them are seen walking confidently on the street.”
Another member of the public wrote to The Borneo Post, “Many public outcries are being heard over the recent death of a van driver who was shot by a robber in the broad daylight at Inanam town.
“Local people are not happy about the illegal immigrants’ issues which had been highlighted on numerous occasions.
“Now another serious issue is also being hotly talked about in town – how did these immigrants gain access to shotguns?
“Without urgent control, the situation can get even worst – robberies, shotguns, bombs.
“What are the next moves by the government to counter the problem? We are anxious to know.”