SANDAKAN: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) will be restructured to further enhance security on the east coast of Sabah, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said today.
He said the National Security Council (MKN) is in the midst of discussing the matter, including efforts to acquire additional equipment to improve the capability of security forces under Esscom.
“The MKN is working with the state government to determine task distributions.
“The Defence Ministry has acquired an additional allocation of more than RM200 million, which will be distributed to enhance Esscom’s task of maintaining security,” he told reporters after his ceramah in the campaign for DAP candidate Vivian Wong Shir Yee for the Sandakan by-election here, on Sunday night.
Mohamad, who is also Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president, said the curfew currently in place in eastern Sabah will also be reviewed to ascertain whether it is still necessary, as the number of kidnapping-for-ransom cases in the area has been on the decline over the past three years.
“We know that more and more tourists, especially from China, are visiting east coast areas of Sabah, such as Sandakan, Tawau and Semporna. This shows that they are confident with the improved level of security in those areas,” he added.--Bernama