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Kidnappers spoke fluent Malay – worker BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Kidnappers spoke fluent Malay – worker

Posted: 07 May 2014 10:36 AM PDT

by Azmie Lim. Posted on May 8, 2014, Thursday

LAHAD DATU: The kidnappers spoke fluently in Malay, said one of the workers at Wonderful Terrace Sdn Bhd, where its 34-year-old manager, Yang Zailin was abducted by a group of armed men on Tuesday.

According to Nus, 22, he did not know about the incident as he was working on the morning shift during the incident.

"During the incident, I was sleeping at home and did not know about anything until my friend told me what happened the next morning.

"I was told by my friend, who was working on the night of the incident, that the kidnappers could speak in Malay. I believe this is proof that they know about this fish farm," he said when interviewed during a visit to Pulau Baik or Pulau Babi yesterday.

Nus, who was interviewed outside the security control area, said that there was about 40 tonnes of fish comprising about 5 kinds of fish in the areas. He said that most of the fish were exported to other countries.

He said that there was a control post at Silam which was located about one kilometer or about 15 minutes to Pulau Baik.

"We did not panic after this incident as we believed that the Malaysian government and security forces will address this problem to the best of their ability as soon as possible," he added.

On Tuesday, a Chinese national was abducted by a group of armed men from his room at Wonderful Terrace Sdn Bhd quarters about 2.45am.

This is the second kidnapping incident that occurred in the state this year. In April, a Chinese tourist and a Filipino resort worker were abducted in Semporna.

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Police awaiting curfew directive from CM

Posted: 07 May 2014 10:35 AM PDT

by Elton Gomes. Posted on May 8, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Police are waiting for official directive from Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on the curfew which will be implemented in several areas following the Tuesday kidnapping case in Lahad Datu.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said a thorough discussion with the relevant parties would be held together with the Chief Minister once a directive is issued.

"Details of the curfew will only be known later," he said yesterday.

Hamza added that among the issues that would be raised are how, where and when it would be implemented.

The State Government has on Tuesday, decided to take steps to further increase the security level along the east coast of Sabah following the kidnapping of a fish farm manager at Pulau Baik, near Pulau Mataking in Lahad Datu.

Musa said that among the preventive measures taken were the setting up of a forward base at strategic areas to monitor the security and safety of the state and imposing curfew at all high-risk areas where all activities will be banned.

The preventive measures were made following the kidnapping of Yang Zai Lin, 34, from Guangzhao, the fish farm manager of Wonderful Terrace Company by five armed men believed to be from a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) group from the Philippines at around 2.45am on May 6.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Hamza also said that police believed an inside job might have been behind the kidnapping of Yang.

This was made following the detention of 19 workers from the fish farm in Pulau Baik to facilitate police investigation and to establish whether any of those detained had given information to the kidnappers prior to the incident. Of the 19 arrested, 11 are Suluks while the rest are Indonesians.

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People have lost confidence in ESSCom, says chamber

Posted: 07 May 2014 10:34 AM PDT

by Chok Sim Yee. Posted on May 8, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: A new and upgraded security body should be set up to replace the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) to regain the confidence of Sabahans, said Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI).

Its president, Datuk Michael Lui, said the people in the state have lost confidence in ESSCom's ability to protect the security in the east coast of Sabah.

He urged the government to re-evaluate the effectiveness of ESSCom in carrying out its tasks and take proper measures, including establishing an upgraded security body to replace ESSCom.

Lui was commenting on the latest abduction of a fish farm manager of Wonderful Terroce Company by five armed men at Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu around 2.45am on Tuesday.

Yang Zai Lin, 34, from Guizhou province in China, was believed to have been abducted by a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) armed group from the Philippines.

This is the second kidnapping within a month this year. On April 2, a Chinese tourist and a Filipino worker identified as Gao Hua Yuan, 29, and Marcy Dayawan @ Mimi, 40, were abducted from Singamata Adventures Reef and Resort in Semporna by masked gunmen, believed to be part of the KFR group from the southern Philippines around 10.30pm.

Lui said the chamber had urged the government to seriously evaluate the effectiveness and operations of ESSCom after the previous abduction in Semporna last month.

The latest abduction has caused the people to lose confidence in Malaysia's security system, he said, adding that the domestic and international communities were also highly concerned about this issue.

"The abduction in Lahad Datu is a major setback to our efforts in recovering from the impact and damage caused by the missing Malaysian Airline MH370 and the previous abduction in Semporna.

"It will definitely cause a huge blow to our State's economy as well as the confidence of foreign investors and tourists."

As such, Lui hoped that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman would represent Sabahans in requesting the Federal Government to strengthen the security asset in our State.

On the impact of Chinese investments in Sabah after the previous abduction in Semporna, Lui said he did not have the figures.

However, he pointed out that the tourist arrival from China in the first week of May could be an indicator.

According to Lui, Labour Day in China is a 'golden week' where the citizens get a seven-day holiday.

For the past few years, many Chinese travellers would visit Malaysia during their Labour Day holidays, including Sabah.

"After the abduction case (in Semporna), Chinese nationals have opted to travel elsewhere.

"We have seen a significantly low number of tourists in the first week of May this year, especially Chinese tourists."

Lui said the Chinese consulate in Kuching has advised its citizens to be aware of their own safety and avoid travelling to remote islands or areas in Sabah, but he was worried that China would advise its citizens against visiting Malaysia, particularly Sabah, which would further worsen our tourism sector.

Hence, Lui urged the Federal and State Governments to re-evaluate the security efforts and undertake restructuring to strengthen the security in Sabah.

Meanwhile, Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) president Dato' Seri Winston Liaw said the latest abduction on Pulau Baik in Lahad Datu would worsen the situation of the tourism industry, which has already been badly affected by the previous abduction in Semporna last month.

He said the curfew that would be imposed on all high-risk areas would be of some help to prevent another abduction since the previous kidnapping cases happened at night.

Liaw opined that the curfew would not impact much on the tourism sector as there were few night tourism activities, including night dives.

On whether there has been any cancellation of trips to Sabah, Liaw said it was too early to tell.

Nonetheless, he urged the government to conduct a study on how to improve our security.

He pointed out that the existing security efforts were ineffective and the government should figure out how to stop abduction from recurring.

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Clear policy on land conversion needed

Posted: 07 May 2014 10:33 AM PDT

by Murib Morpi. Posted on May 8, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: The Land and Survey Department will be proposing a policy mechanism for the conversion of Native Title (NT) land to Country Lease (CL) status, said its director Datuk Osman Jamal.

He said a clear policy that could provide a comprehensive guideline for developing NT land was crucial given the increasing number of commercial development projects involving these type of lands, as there are currently no clear cut policy governing the conversion of such lands.

"So far we only have the Food Security Policy which protects lands for padi cultivation from being converted. To ensure that the conversion of NT to CL title would benefit all parties, we need to take into consideration all the factors involved, and this is what we will do when setting this proposed conversion policy in place," he said.

However, he did not elaborate when the proposed policy could be drafted and submitted to the State Government for consideration.

Touching on the number of NT land in Sabah, he said there 198,533 NT titles issued so far with 335 applications to convert to CL approved between 2007 and 2014.

He said Penampang was among the district with the highest number of NT to CL conversion at 97 approved applications.

He also informed that 69 NT conversion applications from across Sabah were being processed.

On current procedures for converting NT, he said the main concern at present was to assist the 1Family 1House agenda and that the conversion process takes about a year to be completed.

He stressed all aspects would be considered before the approval is given using available regulations and procedures, to ensure the interest of all parties involved are protected.

He added that appropriate action would be taken against any quarters found breaching the laws with regard to land conversion procedures.

Meanwhile on a separate issue, he said the Department was in the process of surveying the government reserved land in Kampung Unggun Menggatal to identify its borders, following a revelation that groups of people had trespassed and settled on the land.

He confirmed that the 152-hectare land earmarked for aquaculture development has been encroached since 2001, where 20 hectares had been 'sold' to individuals by bogus 'agents' while another 12 hectares have been illegally reclaimed.

"There are some 70 houses built on the reserve by people that were tricked into buying pieces of land by certain individuals or group, who issued them with unauthorized land certificates," he said, noting some 600 lots of land, some of which situated in untouched mangrove swamp areas, have been sold to unsuspecting villagers.

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Upko blames large migrant population for kidnapping

Posted: 07 May 2014 10:32 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) is claiming that a large migrant population and settlements in Sabah are causing the rise in kidnapping cases in the state.

Its acting president, Datuk Madius Tangau, said the Singamata kidnapping had yet to be resolved and the state was being challenged with a similar problem involving another Chinese national.

Yang Zailin, who is also the manager of the aquaculture company named Wonderful Terrace Sdn Bhd operating at Mile 7, Payang, Silam Lahad Datu, was abducted on Tuesday.

One particular concern is that the location of the aquaculture operation is in a rather isolated spot and yet kidnappers managed to locate and carry out this heinous crime unnoticed by the security authorities, said Madius who is the Tuaran member of parliament.

The kidnappers must have been in Sabah all this while, he opined adding, "Could it be possible that there is a coordinated effort to conduct kidnapping activities involving Chinese nationals with the objectives of straining further the relationship between Malaysia and China?

"From the looks of it, the coordinator could be residing in Sabah otherwise how could a total foreigner managed to locate an isolated and remote aquaculture business operation? If the above mentioned assumption is true then the security authorities in Malaysia could be handling a much bigger challenge than they would have imagined," he said.

According to Madius, the challanges are being made much more complicated with the presence of a large migrant population and settlements around Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau and Sandakan.

"We believe many of these people are in possession of Malaysian MyKads. If not, why would the immigration authorities continuously allow them to reside in those settlements.

"And that is why UPKO, in our recommendation to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Panel on Illegal Migrants in Sabah, proposed that all MyKads be recalled and the onus is on them to prove that they are bone fide Malaysian citizens through a reregistration exercise," he stressed.

Madius pointed out that the kidnappings were ample proof that the fear of Malaysian citizens on the threats posed by the presence of a large population of migrants who fraudulently obtained their MyKads is real.

The threats are now affecting not only the security of the locals but also threatening the economy of the country, especially tourism and foreign investment, he said.

Therefore UPKO urged the authorities to handle the spate of kidnappings very seriously with a much wider perspective of the security issues affecting the country. It also urged the government to expedite the release of the RCI report.

"In this connection UPKO will not accept the report if the UPKO recommendation of recalling the MyKads is ignored by the RCI panel. UPKO is very concerned that the RCI panel seems to be dragging their feet in completing the final report," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim recently disclosed that a full report of RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah would be presented to Yang di-Pertuan Agong on May 21.

He said the first presentation was made possible after several delays in hearing of the case due to the Lahad Datu intrusion.

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Filipinos reminded not to deal with unaccredited agencies

Posted: 07 May 2014 10:31 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur reiterated its advisory to Filipinos in Sabah against dealing with agencies it has not authorized to transact business for Filipinos in the area, particularly during its consular missions.

This was after the Embassy learned that an agency called "Who's The Boss" and its so-called Sabah Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Association (SPOWWA) continue to allegedly victimize Filipinos in Sabah, asking for money in exchange for facilitating the issuance of Philippine passports, birth certificates and work permits.

Reports have reached the Embassy that the two outfits also allegedly spread misinformation that applicants need to go through agencies before being able to avail of the Embassy's consular services.

"We would like to reiterate that 'Who's the Boss' and SPOWWA are not accredited with nor recognized by the Embassy, and they are also not authorized to conduct consular services for Filipinos in Sabah. In this regard, any transaction with them may put our nationals at risk," Consul General Medardo Macaraig said in a statement yesterday.

"We ask our nationals in Sabah to first check with the Embassy if an agent offering consular services to them is accredited with us," he added.

The Embassy also points out that any Filipino who would like to avail of its services during its consular missions around Sabah does not need to go through any agency.

"They can just approach our consular teams with their completed forms and requirements, and directly deal with Embassy officials on their passport and other applications. Also, Filipino community members should remit any payment to the Embassy's collecting officer, who is there at the venue," Macaraig stated.

The fee for new passport applications and passport renewals is RM231 only, while that to replace lost passports is RM346.50 (for green and machine-readable passports) and RM577.50 (for ePassport).

The Embassy's tentative schedules for its consular missions in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan are available in its website and Facebook page. The exact venues of these missions will be announced once they are available.

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