KOTA KINABALU: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussin yesterday assured Sabahans that the situation in Lahad Datu due to the intrusion of armed men would not affect the impending 13th general election.
“On the issue of security, it will not affect the general election. On the issue of the legal aspect, the Attorney General has also made his views known earlier so the people in Sabah should not have to worry about it at all.
“The only concern that we have is that there may be some unscrupulous group that will exploit the situation by spreading rumours and as what we went through last month, it was very clear that 99 per cent of the rumours were not true, so I hope the mindset conditioning of the people in Sabah can continue from here so that we can learn from our experience,” Hishammuddin told a press conference here yesterday.
He also stressed that no curfew had been imposed in the east coast, especially in districts that are now under the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM).
Hishammuddin said from the aspect of security in Lahad Datu, the situation was back to normal except in only a few villages where the mopping up exercise by security forces was still in progress.
He expressed hope that the exercise can be tidied up soon.
Hishammuddin also explained that what was happening in Lahad Datu was not political but was linked to sovereignty, stability, peace and honour of the people, especially in Sabah.
“The Suluks are not our enemy, our enemy are the intruders who jeopardized our safety and we have initiated an investigation to find who could be behind the intrusion … whether they are from within or outside the country.
“Investigations are being done through our intelligence and so far we have detained about 400 people, eight who have been charged in court. Today (yesterday), I will be getting a detailed briefing at the Prisons department in Tawau on what more needs to be done because the new Act allows us to detain the people but they must be charged in court within 28 days.
“This is a responsible government and when we want to talk about populist politics, even the laws that we have amended, we did not just throw them out of the window without thinking of the consequences and the new laws that have been introduced are sufficient to make sure that Sabahans are safe and those who are suspected to be involved can be detained,” he said.
Hishammuddin during a press conference before departing to Tawau said state Immigration director Datuk Datuk Mohammad Mentek was appointed as ESSCOM director who would be looking into the roll-out of all plans in the security zone involving 10 districts.
According to Hishammuddin, the ESSCOM headquarters would be located in Lahad Datu and he would personally be monitoring the roll-out plans, including the setting up of a new police station in Kerakit.
“The (command) structure of ESSCOM is clearly seen and our commitment to ensure that Sabahans feel safe and the threats spread by certain quarters are baseless. I hope that the public can understand and learn from what we have undergone the past few weeks so that no one will exploit the situation to create fear among Sabahans.
“I am confident with the plans made but close monitoring by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and myself will make Sabahans more confident that what we have gone through recently will be a lesson and we will overcome it together,” he said.