KOTA KINABALU: More efforts must be made to resolve the security issue in the state so that Sabahans along the East Coast, in particular, can once again enjoy the peace that they used to have.
State Assembly Speaker, Datuk Salleh Said, said this in his blog in the wake of the kidnapping of two people from a seafood restaurant in Sandakan last week.
“Tourism is a very important industry not only for Sabah but also for Malaysia and negative incidents such as piracy and kidnappings will not help the tourism trade,” he opined.
Salleh also wrote that Malaysians love talking about human rights and civil liberties. But human rights in the Malaysian context merely means freedom of speech, no detention without trial, and the removal of what they view as draconian laws, such as the sedition and illegal assembly laws.
“Actually, there is a broader definition of human rights that extends beyond just the right to oppose the government.
“Amongst these are the rights to receive an education, the rights to receive potable water, the rights to receive healthcare, and the rights to peace and security.
“The denial of any of these rights means we are being denied our basic rights and fundamental liberties,” said Salleh.
“How can we say we have rights and liberties when the rights to peace and security is denied and we are not at liberty to pursue happiness and peace of mind?” he asked
“We can say that in some parts of Sabah such as along the East Coast we are being denied our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness because of the dangers of terrorism, piracy, murders and kidnappings that we face.
“When we are not free from those risks and dangers then we have lost our human rights. It is as simple as that,” he said.