Esscoms seeks help from Manila over abducted Indonesians

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysian security forces are seeking help from their Philippine counterparts following the abduction of two Indonesian fishermen from waters off Semporna.

They believed the kidnappers crossed into international borders.

“We believe they have left Malaysian waters. We are working closely with our counterparts to get details,” said Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali.

The mission was to identify the suspects and rescue the fisherman, he said. Hazani said there had been no ransom calls made yet.

Early on Tuesday, Samsul Sagunim, 40, and Usman Yunus, 35, were kidnapped at gunpoint not long after docking at the Pulau Gaya jetty.

Two friends, who were also on the vessel, hid inside a compartment and later escaped. They alerted the authorities.

Hazani said more patrols would be conducted along Sabah’s east coast, especially in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone).

He also reminded boat owners to equip their vessels with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) so that security forces could better monitor their movements.

“The fishing vessel involved in this case was not equipped with the AIS,” Hazani said.

“Without the AIS, security forces would take a longer time to respond.”

Crew members would normally contact their employers first who would then alert authorities in an emergency, he said. “The time wasted allowed the criminals to flee,” Hazani said.

Tuesday’s abduction is the first kidnapping case after almost two years of calm. Several attempts were made but were thwarted.

Crossborder kidnappings in Sabah were curtailed after groups linked to the Abu Sayyaf were eliminated during Manila’s allout war against terrorists in the southern Philippines in late 2015 and 2016.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian consulate has met with the employer of the kidnapped Indonesians and urged him to take care of their welfare.

The Indonesian consul in Tawau, Sulistijo Djati Ismojo, said the men had been working for many years as crewmen and fishermen in Semporna.