Sabah Should Formalize Setting Up Homeland Security - Dr. Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu: “The Sabah and Federal governments should consider setting up a full-fledged Sabah Homeland Security Ministry as a long term security mechanism instead of relying on an ad-hoc piecemeal arrangement reacting only to  events such as kidnappings and foreign intrusion as and when they occur” said Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Chairman of Star Sabah, who is also the assemblyman for Bingkor.

“This proposed mechanism is important in view of the repeated cross-border kidnappings and insecurity in Sabah and the repeated failures of the federal government in looking after Sabah’s security” he said.

Dr. Jeffrey said, ”the problem and root-cause of insecurity in Sabah is the result of our own Malaysian leaders’ stupidity  -  the giving of Mykads to unqualified illegal immigrants for political expediency and the supporting of rebels and insurgency in the Southern Philippines in the name of religion”.

Now, would-be-kidnappers, who may well be "Malaysians" operating within our borders, can easily collaborate with their countrymen outside our borders.  They are familiar with our borders and the loopholes to our security system.

They probably have better intelligence than our own security. Does our intelligence know who their next targets are?

These fake Malaysians holding themselves out as Sabahans have been proven on numerous occasions, of Indonesians employed as security guards, one even shot dead a bank officer, and of Pakistani taxi drivers holding fake ICs as Sabahans.  These are probably the tip of the iceberg as testified in the RCI hearings of dubious ICs even being delivered to foreigners and as many as 1.5 million dubious ICs given to foreigners.

As the federal government has failed to keep Sabah safe as promised during the formation of Malaysia,  and the more recent promises by the Prime Minister, his cousin Defence Minister and the Home Minister as well as the establishment of the now proven ineffective ESSCOM, the Sabah government should seriously consider establishing its own Homeland Security Agency to complement and supplement the shortcomings of the federal security.

This Homeland Security should take charge of Sabah Immigration,  Sabah national registration,  State police and labour including foreign workers.

With the purported good federal-state relations existing between Sabah and the federal government. as claimed by Musa, I am sure that this Sabah Homeland security mechanism can easily be worked out” said Dr Jeffrey.

The recent kidnappings especially of foreign tourists which can seriously harm the Sabah economy and livelihood of genuine Sabahans has shown that the time has come for Sabah and Sabahans to take control of their own sovereignty, autonomy and complement security in Sabah.  The establishment of the Ministry of Homeland Security, Immigration and Registration is now timely.