TAWAU: Over a decade ago, fishermen on the east coast of Sabah often had sleepless nights fearing attacks by pirates
or known by the locals as ‘mundu’.
Now, the presence of various security agencies, especially on islands near Tawau, Semporna and Kunak, had clearly given positive impacts, in terms of psychological, social and economic, to coastal residents.
They said the implementation of the Padanan and Sipadan Island Resort Operation, dubbed ‘Ops Pasir’ in 2000 following the kidnapping incident in Sipadan Island on April 23, 2000 by Abu Sayyaf, was a big relief in term of daily security.
Ops Pasir involved 19 islands and 21 soldier settlements, covering the waters of Kudat, Sandakan and Tawau.
“Based on the stories told by our forefathers, the security aspects back then were absolutely scary. There were no military post on the islands. This had indeed gave the freedom to pirates to come to Semporna.
“Today, we can see Malaysian islands near Philippine and Indonesia are being protected with the presence of military personnel, camps and posts.
“Alhamdulillah (All praise be to Allah), we are no longer exposed to pirates’ oppressive violence and assault,” Hadma Indanan, 36, a fisherman from Pulau Bum Bum said.
Hadma, who is also the chairman of Kampung Look Butun Village Development and Security Committee, said his uncle’s boat was once hijacked by the pirates.
The pirates forced him to abandon his boat by diving into the sea and swimming
to the beach to save himself, he said. — Bernama