Rescued men can’t wait to return home
Crewmen were freed from Abu Sayyaf
KOTA KINABALU: Rescued Malaysian captives Abd Rahim Summas and Tayudin Anjut can’t wait to be reunited with their families.
The two underwent medical treatment at a military hospital in Zamboanga City and were handed over to a Malaysian military official late on Thursday.
Abd Rahim, 62, told reporters at Camp Navarro hospital he was eager to get back to his hometown of Tawau in Sabah.
“It has been so long and I just can’t wait to be with my wife and children,” he said when met by Malaysian officials.
Checking on them was Malaysian Army Kol Fazly Mat Said, a member of the International Monitoring Team overseeing the ceasefire between the Philippine armed forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Tayudin, 45, did not speak to the media as he was undergoing medical treatment.
Abd Rahim said his fellow tugboat crewman was also eager to return to Tawau to be reunited with his family.
They are scheduled to fly to Davao City, where Malaysia maintains a consulate, and will be sent home from there.
In Tawau, Tayudin’s wife Gustia Sultan said that she had yet to talk to him since his release. Abd Rahim and Tayudin were flown to Zamboanga City from Jolo where Philippine marines rescued them at a swamp during an operation against the kidnap-for-ransom Abu Sayyaf gunmen at about 2am on Thursday.
Abd Rahim and Tayudin were among five tugboat crewmen abducted in waters off Dent Haven in Lahad Datu district last July 18.
The three other sailors, also from Tawau, are still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. They are Mohd Ridzuan Ismail, 32, Fandy Bakran, 26 and Mohd Zumadi Rahim, 23.
Philippine Armed Forces Joint Taskforce Sulu commander Col Cirilito Sobejana said the five captives were split up following an offensive against the gunmen.
He said the Abu Sayyaf were about to reunite the five when the marines intercepted a group of gunmen and rescued Abd Rahim and Tayudin. He said they believed the three remaining captives were still in Jolo and were alright, “but were forced to be on the run with their abductors.”
When contacted, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said the rescued Malaysians were expected to depart for Kuala Lumpur from Manila today.
In Kuala Lumpur, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the security in Sabah was getting better.
“We are more in control of the situation in the east coast (of Sabah).
“We will continue strengthening our border security through coordinated effort with other security forces as well as enforcement agencies,” he told a press conference after the 210th Police Day celebration yesterday.