Pilot study on community acceptance of ESSZone MCO underway

SANDAKAN: A pilot study is currently underway in Sandakan and Semporna regarding the local community’s acceptance of the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSZone), said Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) commander Datuk Victor Sanjos.

He said the findings of the study, which is being conducted by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), will be presented to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail by the end of this month before the study is expanded to four more districts involved in the ESSZone MCO.

“Through the study, we will be able to assess the level of acceptance among the local community and target groups in the trade, business, fisheries, tourism, and education sectors towards the rebranded ESS Zone MCO,” he said in his speech at ESSCom’s engagement session and dialogue with the ESSZone community here.

His speech was read out by his deputy Brig Gen Roslan Mat Saad.

Victor said the study would also analyse the effectiveness of the implementation of the MCO, identify existing threats, and assess the plans in terms of reducing the ESSZone MCO areas, completely revoking the MCO or adopting a hybrid approach.

He said that the study would also examine alternative mechanisms to replace the MCO if it were to be revoked.

On July 16, 2014, a curfew was implemented in the waters of Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, and Sandakan, which was later expanded to the waters of Tawau, Kinabatangan, and Beluran, to curb terrorists and kidnap-for-ransom threats.

However on Oct 17 last year, the curfew was rebranded to ESSZone MCO, involving the waters of all the areas except Tawau, which was found to have a satisfactory level of security.

Meanwhile, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong said the study is a significant effort considering Sandakan has one of the largest maritime communities and is affected by the implementation of the ESSZone MCO.

She also praised the excellent achievements of ESSCom in ensuring no kidnap-for-ransom cases since 2020.