General Operations Force camp for Beluran
BELURAN: A camp will be set up for the Beluran General Operations Force (PGA), said the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom).
Its chief executive officer, Ruji Ubi, said they had identified a strategic site for the camp and were now i n the process of acquiring the land.
“If everything goes as planned, the setting up of the PGA camp project will be started early next year.
“According to the plan, the project is expected to be completed by 2018,” he said after visiting the camp project site near Beluran town yesterday.
Ruji said the setting up of the PGA camp proved that the federal government was committed in its efforts to enhance security at the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone), including Beluran.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, when presenting the National Budget 2015 last year, stated that ESSCom would be allocated with RM660 million, including for the setting up of one PGA battalion from the Malaysian Royal Police and one battalion from the army with 1,280 newlyapproved personnel.
Najib also stated that two camps would be built at ESSZone, namely Battalion Camp 20 PGA in Beluran, and a Malaysian Armed Forces Camp at Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu.
ESSZone has ten districts covering 1,733.7 kilometres from Kudat to Tawau. LAHAD DATU: Traffic congestion that has become a pain in the neck for road users at Jalan Silabukan is expected to be resolved once the status of the road to be developed under the Pan Borneo Highway network is known.
Silam member of parliament Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur said in view of the urgent need for improvement to the road, he is proposing another solution for immediate action.
Nasrun said apart from changing the status of the road from state road to federal road, another alternative is to use the state road development allocation through federal funding.
“The government needs to pay attention to this problem as Jalan Silabukan is the main road to Tungku from the airport, Fire and Rescue Department station, schools and government departments.
“This urgent need is also listed in the 11th Malaysia Plan as a project for district main road network development located in the middle of Sabah East coast network,” he said.
According to Nasrun, among the projects in the district listed for development in the 11th Malaysia Plan are the Sepagaya flood mitigation project, the new airport and construction of religious schools.
Earlier, in his speech at the dinner with Barisan Nasional component parties, Nasrun urged the leaders to continue becoming facilitators for the people by going down to the field, especially in outlying rural areas.
“This work culture will ensure the continued support of the people in line with the goals of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” he added.
During the dinner, Nasrun presented appointment letters to the leaders of the component parties.
Meanwhile, speaking at an ESSCom meeting with youth leaders at the District Office here, Ruji said ESSCom was committed to realise the government’s vision and mission in keeping the country’s sovereignty and ensuring the safety of Sabahans, especially at ESSZone.
“This includes the issue of illegal i mmigrants. Only in January, a total of 2,579 people believed to be illegal immigrants, were detained in a special integrated operation in three ESSZone districts,” he explained.
He revealed that out of the total number, 1,647 were men whereas the rest were women, and were detained at various locations including the district market and public places in Tawau, Semporna and Lahad Datu.
“They were arrested for not having valid ident i f ic at ion documents and were sent to the Immigration Depa r t ment for checking and then to their respective countries where t hey a re from,” he said.
Ruji added the integrated operation was part of a drastic step taken by the government fol lowing the announcement of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah.
He asked the youths to always cooperate with ESSCom, especially reporting the presence of illegal immigrants in their areas or people suspected to be cross-border criminals.
“I also hope that the youths will not be easily deceived and influenced by rumours and words of mouth that are not ver i f ied,” he added.
A lso present at the meeting was ESSCom commander DCP Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun. Talipudin.
Traffic congestion at Jalan Silabukan to be resolved soon — MP