Malaysia steps up maritime security after abduction

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR (AA) – Malaysia has ordered its maritime security forces to step up surveillance around the eastern state of Sabah to tackle kidnap-for-ransom activities in piracy-ridden waters bordering the Philippines’ troubled south.

The order came a day after a gang based in the neighboring archipelago’s south managed to evade detection in Malaysian waters and seized three non-local fishermen near Semporna island.

Malaysia's deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, revealed Monday that the government has issued stringent orders to the Eastern Sabah Security Command, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Royal Malaysia Navy.

"This gang operates in the southern Philippines, specifically near islands located in the vicinity of the Malaysian border. We have done a lot of surveillance in the area but this gang has somehow managed to continue to operate under the radar," Hamidi said in a statement.

Hamidi noted that the three fishermen abducted Sunday were non-locals holding IMM13 documents, a temporary residence permit issued under Regulation 11 of the country's Immigration Rules.

Such permits had been issued to many Filipino refugees who came to Sabah, especially in the 1970s, after fleeing the conflict in the southern Philippines -- where several armed Muslim groups operate, including some involved in an ongoing peace process with the government.

The majority of the refugees are still regarded as migrants.

On Sunday, the three crew members were kidnapped from a Malaysian-registered fishing boat in waters off Pom Pom Island, a popular scuba diving location in Sabah.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said among new initiatives to combat such kidnappings was a plan to equip local authorities with more firepower to boost security in Sabah.

The weapons are aimed at overcoming threats posed by Daesh-influenced militants and other terror groups based in the southern Philippines.

Around 20 armored four-wheel vehicles will be placed in Lahad Datu along with four additional Agusta helicopters equipped with Gatling gun systems, Hussein was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama.

In the past five months, more than 20 Indonesian and Malaysian sailors have been kidnapped in the Celebes and Sulu seas, many of whom remain captive by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines.

In November, the group beheaded a Malaysian after ransom negotiations for his release failed.

Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.

It is one of two militant groups in the south to have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that it could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.