Pakatan Rakyat Sabah has filed an application to move a vote of no confidence against Musa Aman, Chairman of ESSCOM, in light of the series of kidnapping incidents in the East Coast of the state. 

Making the application was Klias Assemblyman, Lajim Ukin who is also the opposition leader in the Sabah State Assembly.

“We have achieved consensus pertaining the issue and therefore decided moving the non confidence vote motion against Musa who is also chairman of the State Security Committee must be held responsible for the failure of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) to ensure security in the East Coast,” said Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Chan Foong Hin

The application was submitted to the State Legislative secretariat on Thursday by Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives namely, Chan Foong Hin, Kapayan State Assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi, DAPSY Publicity Secretary Junz Wong, Inanam State Assemblyman Dr Roland Chia from PKR and Moyong State Assemblyman Terence Siambun from PKR-Moyog. They were accompanied by Kota Kinabalu MP, Jimmy Wong who is also DAP Sabah chief and PAS Sabah Commissioner Haji Aminuddin Aling.

For the motion, they have requested that voting be done discretely using the balot box instead of show of hands.

This comes as a response to the unending series of intrusions and kidnappings in the east coast of Sabah that has been going on for many years. This includes the abduction of 21 tourists of various nationalities from Sipadan Island in the late 1990s by Abu Sayyaf group and the Lahad Datu intrusion by Sulu terrorists last year.

Following the Sulu intrusion, the government had set up the ESSCOM, but instead of strengthening security in the East Coast, more kidnapping happened beginning with the abduction of two Taiwanese tourists last year, said Chan.

Despite that, in April this year, two people, including a Chinese national were kidnapped from a resort in Semporna. A month later, the kidnappers struck again in Lahad Datu where they abducted a Chinese fish breeder farm manager, and last month saw two people from Kunak get abducted.

“These spates of kidnapping incidents had badly affected not only Sabah
but the whole of Malaysia,” explained Chan Foong Hin who added that the tourism sector is losing an estimated RM11 million per month due to the cancellations of flights and bookings of accomodations in tourist hotspots in the East Coast.

The motion would be tabled by Dr Roland Chia and supported by Chan. -TheRocket