KOTA KINABALU: Political watchdog, Democracy Sabah (DESAH) has claimed the government was transparent in the handling of the Lahad Datu intrusion by armed foreign elements.
Its chairman, former state secretary Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, said the authorities had failed to keep the public properly informed of the actual situation.
“I don’t know much about it, so I think it’s unfair for me to make any speculation, but I do feel the news reports on the issue have been conflicting. The PM is seen to be very conciliatory but transparency is also very important,” he said to reporters here yesterday.
Sipaun was asked to comment on reports that more than 100 heavily armed militant members from Southern Philippines have encroached into Sabah waters and came ashore at an estate area in Lahad Datu on Wednesday.
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, on Thursday said, Malaysia was taking a non-confrontational approach to the situation to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and were prepared to negotiate with the group to persuade them to return to their home country peacefully.
The question the public were anxiously asking was why the armed group was in Sabah in the first place, he said.
“If their presence here was connected to the longstanding conflicts in the Southern Philippines, then it is between them and their government.
“Malaysia should not be showing friendly gestures and offering to negotiate but should have instead responded strongly to the intruding party for they have disrespected Malaysian laws and committed an act of invasion.
“For me, clearly they are invaders, especially if they are in uniform and armed with guns. How can you reason and negotiate with that?”
More than anything else, Sipaun said, the security of the state is the most important thing and it must be seen to have been safeguarded by the government.
The reason Sabah agreed to the formation of Malaysia was for security reason, thinking that being part of a bigger country would make it and all the other member countries more secure and stronger.
“However, this does not seem to be the case here. The PTI (illegal immigrants) problems, for example, are post-Malaysia. And, let’s not forget that a similar incident had happened before, where a group of armed men from the Philippines came to Lahad Datu, opened fire in public and robbed a bank,” he added.
When asked how he thought the government should have handled the situation, he said: “As far as I am concerned, these foreign elements are invaders.
“For me, there is simply no reason to be friendly with these people. Today they come in hundreds, next time they may come in thousands and the next time they come, they may want to take over because they know that they can,” he cautioned.