KOTA KINABALU, January 27, 2016: It is bewildering that a few days after
the arrest of a suspected terrorist in Johor, the Sabah Security Committee
is still in the dark about the true identity of the “man from Sabah”
detained along with six others in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah Progressive
Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee commented in a statement
yesterday.
Yong added that in spite of having arrested the terror suspect, the
authorities are still not even sure if he is a Sabahan or a foreigner with
dubious document or whatever.
"I would have thought that, before the police arrested the terror suspect,
the police would have uncovered his activities, and therefore his
identity, before nabbing him.
He said in any case, “Sabah ICs” for genuine Malaysians in Sabah would
have provided the relevant background information about the man, his birth
place and his home town or village, Yong said.
"With such information, it takes no time to establish his former school,
his family and social circle and employment history. Such information
would be useful not only for preventive actions against terrorist attacks
but also in conducting “deradicalisation” programmes for the future.
"Instead, the dismal failure of the federal government in protecting the
sanctity of citizenship documents such as MyKad has exposed the
vulnerabilities of our national security. The Sabah government should
immediately set up a department to issue Sabah ICs to genuine Malaysians
in Sabah," Yong stressed
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