Navy supports marine police call for wider patrol area off Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: In a bid to boost security in Sabah waters, the navy is supporting a proposal by the marine police, which usually monitor the country's coastal waters, to patrol a wider area.

Navy chief Tan Sri Aziz Jaafar said it welcomed any measure that would assist in ensuring the nation’s security.

Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Salleh Mat Rasid said that the marine police wanted to extend its area of operation to five nautical miles off Sabah, from one nautical mile (1.8km).

The marine police found that the limit of one nautical mile hindered its crime prevention patrols.

"The situation in Sabah waters is safe and under control. Our security forces are on top of the situation, on both land and sea," Aziz said after a visit by the Sultan of Selangor to the naval housing complex in Sandakan on Saturday.

He said a multi-layered defence system was in place under the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscomm).

"We now have an even more effective defence mechanism to ensure security along the east coast of Sabah," Aziz said.