MyWatch Sabah concerned with security issues

SABAHAN CONCERNED ON SECURITY ISSUES WHILE MUSA CONCERNED ON BUSINESS EXPANSION

 

Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) Sabah Branch may be just three months old but it has already got down to brass tacks on security concerns in Sabah.

Among the issues was exposing illegal cyber gambling activities in premises around sub-urban areas in the city, which subsequently led to the permanent closure of such premises.

They also lodged a police report following a statement by Abraham Idjirani, who spoke on behalf of the Sultan Esmail Kiram II, to warn that Sulu terrorists will take Sabah by force in the event diplomatic talks over their claims on the State failed.

MyWatch Sabah is headed by the Protem Committee Chairman Kenny Chua together with Felix Salayab as the Secretary and Francis Moyo Lee, a former police officer as the overall adviser.

It was set up on Jan 8 this year with assistance and guidance in terms of technicality from MyWatch Malaysia which is headed by the former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the Patron and its Chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan.

"Since Mywatch Sabah is still within its infancy, we do admit that we have yet to achieve any substantial achievement but we have actually highlighted several issues which concerns our security," said Chua.

"Among our concern is the proliferation of foreign traders in the villages such as sundry shops manned by Pakistani operators who may not have the proper trading licence to do so.

"Foreigners operating a sundry shop without a valid licence is against the law and the questions we are asking now are, were these foreigners issued a valid trading licence by the local authority?

"If yes, are they citizens of Malaysia having gone through the proper process of being granted citizenship? Or is there any corruption element involved?," he questioned.

He said the law is still a law and no one should rationalise their thirst for greed and profit by renting out their lands or premises to foreigners, who have already broken the law in the first place by coming to Sabah illegally, by saying that they are doing it out of human compassion.

He said unlike major cities in the peninsula, Sabah generally has a massive problem with the existence of hundreds of thousands of foreigners who seemed to have shifted from the urban to the sub-urban and interior areas of Sabah.

"It is very easy to blame others for the influx of these foreigners but it is very hard for the majority of Sabahans to take a principled stand against the foreigners doing business in their own villages.

"We are also equally concerned with reports stating that the illegal cyber gambling syndicates are now relocating from commercial premises in the sub-urban areas to villages," he said.

"In line with MyWatch Sabah's initiative to bust trespassers and to bring the crime rate under control, we are also concentrating on cases of house and vehicle break-ins which I believe is on the rise.

"We have to remember that while development brings progress to us, crime also goes up," he added.

Daily Express