I was not surprised when Malaysian mainstream media broke the news. In fact, it was waiting to happen.
When Chief Minister Shafie Apdal's Parti Warisan won the state as part of a larger Pakatan Harapan's coalition, two of their earliest moves was to uplift the ban on barter trade and the ban on pump-boat, despite the protest from ESSCOM.
Barter Trade
The barter trade was banned because it was exploited by kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) groups to infiltrate the state to identify targets. The measure was taken also to reduce the number of targets for KFR, with the last kidnapping involving barter traders happening in 2016, when 4 Malaysians were kidnapped when they were enroute from the Philippines to Sabah. One of the victims is led by DAP MP for Lanang, Alice Lau.
The barter trade was banned because it was exploited by kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) groups to infiltrate the state to identify targets. The measure was taken also to reduce the number of targets for KFR, with the last kidnapping involving barter traders happening in 2016, when 4 Malaysians were kidnapped when they were enroute from the Philippines to Sabah. One of the victims is led by DAP MP for Lanang, Alice Lau.
The barter trade ban move was in a sense similar in idea to the Briggs Plan. The idea was to starve the enemy from logistics support.
For years, Southern Philippines had been relying on Sabah for supply of goods and commodity. Being a large archipelago, Manila was unable to provide much of the needed supplies to the outlier islands. As the Sulu Sea contains many valuable resources that have high value in major markets in Hong Kong and Singapore, these were exchanged for much needed supplies that Manila was not able to provide.
The ban resulted in these traders suffering loss as the trade was valued between RM9 million to RM12 million per month. Understandably, it did not endear the previous administration to these traders (read here too).
Across the strait, the impact was nearly immediate. Local Mindanao people found their much-needed supplies in shortage. Knowing there's not much they can do, they did the next best thing; they went against the local KFR to push them to exit the business. In fact, several KFR units were eliminated from 2015 to 2017 and kidnapping attempts reduced significantly. In fact, the kidnapping involving Alice Lau's cousin was the last kidnapping until today.
But because that this trade is worth RM6 to RM7 million to some traders, this was uplifted. And the poor amongst us get the sticks.
The Pump-Boat
Fast and nimble, security agencies in Sabah had been highlighting the dangers posed by these boats. As these boats are able to travel shallow waters, this allow bandits to escape security agencies' dragnet.
Fast and nimble, security agencies in Sabah had been highlighting the dangers posed by these boats. As these boats are able to travel shallow waters, this allow bandits to escape security agencies' dragnet.
The same boat is favoured by fishermen in the area as it is cheap. With the ban uplifted, security personnel will find it difficult not only to chase the bandits but also to differentiate the wolves from the sheep.
Budget
Former Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Razak was quick to highlight how the 2019 budget had reduced the budget for ESSCOM, which had also played a hand into impairing ESSCOM's ability to operate efficiently.
Former Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Razak was quick to highlight how the 2019 budget had reduced the budget for ESSCOM, which had also played a hand into impairing ESSCOM's ability to operate efficiently.
It is a breath of fresh air where the opposition is highlighting security issues in the way I would like it to be highlighted. Past opposition were only harping how much waste were spent on defence and security. Oh wait. They're the government now. And that bring us to our next point.
Budget Cuts for Navy
We've been receiving rumours that Navy has been told to make do with only 3 out of 6 Maharajalela LCS. This is on top of 2 out of 4 LMS. If this is true, ladies and gentlemen, we are back to the era of seciput procurement. When you thought that ended with the fall of BN administration (rumours abound that they planned to procure at most 8 units of Rafale).
We've been receiving rumours that Navy has been told to make do with only 3 out of 6 Maharajalela LCS. This is on top of 2 out of 4 LMS. If this is true, ladies and gentlemen, we are back to the era of seciput procurement. When you thought that ended with the fall of BN administration (rumours abound that they planned to procure at most 8 units of Rafale).
Well, to be frank, this was not a surprise. Though I recalled when this was pointed out previously, some commenters mentioned it is impossible as the government would be helmed by Tun Mahathir. The problem is, the seciput era actually started during his time.
Together with the possible eventual end of lease for the sea-bases currently deployed in Sabah (5 altogether with 3 former oil platforms and 2 MISC ships), we might see further spike in kidnapping in the area.
Do note also that the current Philippine government had been coming down hard on these KFR groups, mainly due to the support and links of these with Daish during the Marawi siege. So expect some of them to try find refuge in Sabah in the mean time.
Putrajaya
While in the mean time, instead of fixing the economy and security concerns, what we see today is a government that is so focused on politicking. As much as I was not satisfied with the previous government in defence issues, I can only shake my head in disgust.
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