Don't let militant groups make Sabah their next base, says security analyst

KOTA KINABALU: The threat of militant groups including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) making Sabah a base should be nipped in the bud, says a security analyst.

Associate Prof Wan Shawaluddin Wan Hassan said that with ASG nearly crippled in the Philippines, there was a real possibility of the group putting down roots in Sabah.

This could be likely given that some of its members had allegedly obtained Malaysian identity cards using fake documents such as birth certificates, he added.

The senior lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities pointed out that the recent arrest of a 53-year-old man known as “Omar bin Harun” in Manila was indicative of ASG trying to sneak into Sabah.

“The question is how many ASG members have managed to infiltrate the community like Omar?” he told The Star.

“We need to show (ASG) that we are serious about not allowing them to create chaos in Sabah like they did in the Philippines,” he added.

ALSO READ: Five Abu Sayyaf members killed in shootout with Sabah police

Associate Prof Wan Shawaluddin said Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) needed to intensify intelligence activities not only in the state’s east coast but throughout Sabah.

He said ASG had infiltrated south-western Beaufort district but was successfully detected by Esscom on May 9 last year, with 37 Filipinos arrested.

Five ASG members were also killed while trying to attack security forces a few days later.

“The question is why did the ASG move to Beaufort? Esscom’s monitoring makes it difficult for these groups to mobilise in the east coast of Sabah,” he said.

ALSO READ: Two Abu Sayyaf members killed in shootout

He said after destroying the cell in Beaufort, Esscom then took down another ASG cell with the killing of two of its members in Pulau Timbang, Sandakan on Aug 19.

“Esscom's success against these two cells shows that this group has already established (a presence) in Sabah to carry out its activities.

“Esscom needs to act quickly to eliminate ASG cells in Sabah before it spreads to other districts and threatens the security of the state,” he said.

He added that more assets are needed, especially drones, boats and helicopters, to strengthen security in the east coast.

“The deployment of military battalions in Felda Sahabat (in Lahad Datu) also needs to be accelerated... (do not wait) until the completion of the planned military camp there which will take two or three years.

“Cooperation with Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) needs to be enhanced to eliminate the ASG threat in the southern Philippines as well as in Sabah.

“This is important in ensuring that ASG, which has been nearly crippled in the southern Philippines, is prevented from making Sabah a place to continue its legacy of violence and chaos,” he said.

ALSO READ: UTK commando team to be sent to Sabah's East Coast to counter Abu Sayyaf, beef up security

He added that the public should also play a role by immediately providing information on suspicious activities to the authorities.

Omar, whose Filipino name is Airola @ Satar, was detained in the Philippines after he flew with his wife and two children from Kuala Lumpur to Manila using a Malaysian passport on May 10.

The man was initially barred from entering the Philippines by Immigration authorities there but investigations found that he was a Filipino involved in the southern Philippines Lamitan City siege in 2001 and also in several kidnappings.

Omar told Filipino investigators he obtained a Malaysian birth certificate and applied for Malaysian citizenship, which was granted in 2008.

ALSO READ: Fake ID: 'Malaysian' barred from entering Philippines turns out to be wanted Abu Sayyaf member

He also has a Malaysian wife living in Pandan, Selangor and an ex-wife in Dubai. He claimed to have travelled to Dubai and the Philippines using a Malaysian passport as well.

It turned out that Omar was not only linked to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) activities but was also a wanted Abu Sayyaf member involved in kidnappings linked to its commander Radulan Sahiron.

Regional intelligence sources also said he was on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) wanted terror list for his involvement with facilitating five Malaysians linked to JI activities in the failed 2017 Marawi siege.

The source said Philippines police and intelligence believed that Omar acted as a facilitator for Malaysian Dr Mahmud Ahmad, who was killed in the siege.