LAHAD DATU: Kampung Tanduo, where the armed Filipino intruders were first holed up, will be permanently closed.
Tungku assemblyman Datuk Mohd Suhaili Said further disclosed that the affected villagers would be resettled at an area where they would be provided with better security and facilities.
“The new settlement would be equipped with basic facilities such as a surau, kindergarten and clinic. Villagers are then assured with better security and comfort,” he told displaced villagers yesterday.
He said this when presenting the RM1,000 special allowance for affected villagers from eight villages at Felda Sahabat, some 100 kilometres from here.
“The closure is not meant to chase villagers out of Kampung Tanduo but we believe that it would be better suited for the security forces base as it is strategically located as it faces the Sulu and Sulawesi seas,” said Suhaili.
Lahad Datu District Officer Zulkifli Nasir said a proposed 300-acre land had been identified at Kampung Sungai Merah to resettle the villagers from Kampung Tanduo.
“The location has been approved by the National Security Council and the police, and will be submitted to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman for approval,” said Zulkifli.
There are some 15 houses and about 20 families in Kampung Tanduo.
State Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib on Wednesday confirmed that Kampung Tanduo was now free from terrorist threats.
He said there were less than 10 intruders left and believed that they would get them in no time.
The armed Filipino intruders were first spotted in Kampung Tanduo on Feb 12.
On March 5, the Malaysian security forces launched an offensive attack on the intruders at Kampung Tanduo.