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KOTA KINABALU: Barricades will be established at all district borders beginning Thursday (October 1) evening in Sabah following the announcement of the inter-district travel ban.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that interdistrict travel will not be allowed in Sabah from midnight on Saturday (October 3) until October 16.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said that all district police stations have been notified about the ban and the need for roadblocks to be put in place on Thursday night.
“We will also get help from other security forces like the armed forces,” he said when contacted.
He said that those who work in one district but live in another, for example, who live in Penampang but work in Kota Kinabalu, about half an hour away, would have to show proof of work and address to pass roadblocks.
“Those who work should have letters from their employers,” Hazani said.
The cross-district travel ban was not a motion control or blockade order, he said.
Businesses and offices could continue to operate as usual, but there would be no travel outside the districts.
He said there was some confusion among the public who feared this would mean they had to stay home and not work.
“You can still go to work, but you are not allowed to travel outside of your district, unless you are in the essential services industry,” Hazani said.
He said police were ready to drive and act on the inter-district travel ban.
“We have been through this on the first motion control order (MCO), so we are prepared,” he said.
Meanwhile, the sunset-to-sunrise sea curfew on Sabah’s east coasts, which ends Thursday, will run for another two weeks until October 17.
Hazani said the extension of the curfew from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. was necessary due to continued threats from cross-border criminals, including kidnap-for-ransom groups.
The curfew covers areas up to three nautical miles off Tawau, Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Sandakan and Beluran.
He said that according to intelligence sources, kidnapping for ransom groups and Abu Sayyaf militants are still trying to attack and commit cross-border crimes.
“We also want to ensure the safety of the Sabah people who use the waters and stay close to Esszone (Eastern Sabah Security Zone),” Hazani said.
He added that the curfew was to facilitate enforcement and monitoring of boat activities in the area, as well as to give nearby villa owners and fishermen a sense of security through the presence of a team of security.
“I have also given the authority to all district police chiefs to issue permits to any eligible applicant who meets the criteria to carry out fishing activities in the areas affected by the curfew,” he said.
The curfew was first implemented on July 19, 2014, following a series of kidnappings that saw the beheading of the Sarawakian Bernard Then Ted Fed and the murder of several others, including a police officer and tourists.
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