M'sia hope hostages not harmed in army strike:
PM
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 19
(Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said while Malaysia cannot
interfere in the Philippine military offensive against armed kidnappers in Jolo, he hoped
that the hostages are not endangered.
"We want to ensure that the lives of the hostages are not endangered in whatever the
Philippines has to do and this we have conveyed to them," he said at a news
conference here at the end of his two-day visit to Sabah.
As far as Malaysia was concerned, he said, anything that endangered the lives of the
hostages "is not something that we can accept."
"We know what they (the Philipine military) are doing and why they are doing it...but
we cannot really interfere because basically this is something that is being done in their
own country," Dr Mahathir said.
He was asked to comment on the appeal by families of the three Malaysians kidnapped in
Pulau Pandanan and taken to Jolo on Sept 10 that the government pressure the Philippine to
halt military strikes against the Jolo kidnappers until the hostages are freed.
The fate of the Malaysian hostages -- Pandanan Semporna Island Resort manager Mohamad Noh
Sulaiman, dive instructor Joseph Jongkinoh and contractor Kan Wei Chong -- is still
unknown as Philippine military assaults on rebel positions on Jolo entered its fourth day
today.
According to reports from the Philippines, some of the hostages have been sighted today
but no details were available. Dr Mahathir was also asked whether he was confident of the
effectiveness of the new security arrangements in Sabah in the wake of the Sept 10
Pandanan kidnapping, the second incident in Sabah waters within five months.
The prime minister said: "At the moment, (I am) not yet (confident). We have our
plans as to how to boost the security of Sabah...we will consider anyone crossing the
border as if he was invading our country and we will take action befitting such an
action."
The first abduction of nine Malaysians and 12 foreign nationals in Sipadan Island last
April 23 was also by a Jolo-based armed group.
Dr Mahathir said the government wanted to make sure, as much as it could, that the
country's borders are not encroached by anyone.
"We have a problem also in the Peninsula where Indonesian illegals are coming across
and we are going to take action also to prevent this. The problem in Sabah is made more
complicated because these people carry arms.
"We will make sure that they will not cross our borders, whether it is the sea border
or land border," Dr Mahathir said.
The prime minister was also asked about the presence of a huge number of foreigners in
Sabah.
"Yes, we want to tackle the problem. As you know we have been very tolerant...they
use our facilities, our schools and hospitals and other amenities and yet we are being
accused of ill-treating them. No other country allows illegals to use its
facilities," he said.
He said Malaysia had been deporting illegal immigrants but many came back mainly because
of the porous border with the many bays and islets making their influx difficult to
control.
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