No specific formula in tackling new security threat – Hishammuddin

KLUANG: There is no specific formula in tackling the new security threat faced by the government in this region, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

However, he said the government would always ensure that any proactive, pre-emptive or preventive measure taken was suitable in dealing with this new threat.

“There is no fixed formula but what is important is we have to realise that the threat we are facing now is not the traditional threat we used to face with Jemaah Islamiah, Al-Qaeda, Nordin Mat Top and Mas Selamat,” he said yesterday.

Hishammuddin was asked whether the government planned to “clean out” villages in Sabah that were often associated with militant activities.

On Saturday, six individuals including a woman were arrested by security forces in a concerted operation in Telipok, Sabah, as they were believed to be informants for foreign criminals.

On the arrests, Hishammuddin said the operation was carried out with the police based on intelligence information.

He said a lot of changes had been made to safeguard Sabah and its people’s security, more so after the intrusion incident in Lahad Datu in 2013. These included the upgrading of Lahad Datu Airport as a forward operation base for helicopters and the stationing of 12 AV8 Gempita amphibious multirole armoured vehicles at Kukusan Camp, Tawau.