By Eddy Hiew

KOTA KINABALU: Wednesday’s rescue of the three Malaysian hostages by Filipino troops has ended the anxiety of not only their respective families, but also those manning the Malaysian Embassy in the Philippines.

Malaysia Ambassador Mohamad Arshad Hussain told Daily Express the successful rescue brought about tremendous relief to the Malaysian Government as well as Malaysians everywhere.

"The important thing is that it has been a big relief for all of us that they are safe despite having undergone tense moments. It was not easy for our government and the respective families during the trying period of their captivity," he said.

Dive resort manager Mohammed Noor Sulaiman, 43, divemaster Joseph Ongkinoh, 40, and contractor foreman Kan Wei Chong, 35, were recovered in a village on the foothills of a rebel stronghold of Mount Mahala, in the outskirts of Talipao town on Jolo island, by Philippine troopers following a fierce gun battle with the Abu Sayyaf captors.

They were plucked from the Pulau Pandanan dive resort, off Semporna, by a group of gunmen and subsequently taken to Jolo, on Sept 10, barely a month after the last batch of three Malaysians were released by the Abu Sayyaf rebels.

The earlier batch of nine Malaysians and 12 foreigners were abducted at gunpoint during a raid by the rebels on the Pulau Sipadan dive resort, on April 23.

They were subsequently released in batches after nearly three months held captive by the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo island.

Mohd Arshad, who presided over the culmination of both the transborder kidnappings which happened within five months of the other, also said the question of which batch of Malaysian hostages suffered a greater ordeal no longer mattered.

"God willing, the three former hostages rescued Thursday will finally be reunited with their families in Kota Kinabalu tomorrow (Friday)," he said.

He assured that they were in fine shape, having undergone medical examination upon being transferred to Zamboanga City following their rescue.

On the question of ransom, Arshad stressed that the fact the three Malaysians were resuced by the Philippine armed forces was indication enough that money was never the mitigating factor in their release from the rebel’s hands.

He was also optimistic that the Philippine government and the military would do their best to source the release of the remaining captives, including Filipino Roland Ullah, who is the last of the original Sipadan hostages.

He said it was not easy for the embassy to make predications on the fate of the last three Malaysians in the early stages of the military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, but could only hope and pray that the Malaysians would be out of harm’s way.

Arshad said he was confident that the Malaysian Government had taken more positive measures to ensure no recurrence of further incidents of similar nature.

According to him, it was understood that both governments had taken steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation to tighten security across their respective borders.

He said one positive outcome of the kidnappings was that it strengthened efforts by Malaysia and the Philippines in "combating and preventing such transnational crimes in the future".

"I have no doubt that we have become wiser now, and while there is no guarantee that such incidents will not be repeated, the chances of a repeat performance are slim," he said.

However, he cautioned, that the people must also do their part to ensure that such incidents would be a thing of a past.

"Being overly dependent on the government for security would not guarantee that a repetition of the incident unless Sabahans themselves feel obliged to render full cooperation to the relevant authorities against any security threats," he said.