Army to take command of ESSCom July 1
KOTA KINABALU: Beginning July 1, the Royal Malaysian Army ( RMA) will be responsible for commanding the Eastern Sabah Security Command ( ESSCom) for security in East Sabah Safe Zone ( ESSZone).
Inspector- General of Police ( IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the decision was made as part of the restructuring operation of ESSCom between RMA and the Royal Malaysian Police ( RMP).
Under the new restructuring, RMA will command ESSCom for security along ESSZone for 18 months.
“Starting 1st of July, the command for ESSCom will rotate between the Royal Malaysian Army and the Royal Malaysian Police, and the first command will be handed to the RMA for 18 months before the RMP take over,” he said at a press conference at the state police headquarters in Kepayan here yesterday.
Also present were Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib and Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner P/ DCP Datuk Abdul Malek Hj Harun.
Khalid explained that the rotation between the RMA and the RMP is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people of Sabah, especially those residing along the east coast.
He therefore requested that all police personnel who are currently stationed at ESSCom give their full cooperation to the RMA command.
“We will also make some changes in the operation structure of police personnel in ESSCom to ensure
Starting 1st of July, the command for ESSCom will rotate between the Royal Malaysian Army and the Royal Malaysian Police, and the first command will be handed to the RMA for 18 months before the RMP take over. Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Inspector-General of Police (IGP)
smooth operation,” he said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had explained in a statement that the command of ESSCom would be rotated to avoid conflict of power and misuse of assets.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Khalid said the police have not received any reports or complaints of corruption within ESSCom, and said that police would continue to give their full cooperation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( MACC) to address the problem.
“If there is corruption practice, we will not hesitate to take action and will give our fullest cooperation to the MACC.
“But for now, we have not received any reports or complaints of corruption in ESSCom,” he said.