Salleh Said Keruak, deputy chairman of Sabah Umno, said intelligence gathering was vital to prevent any untoward incidents.

“Intelligence work needs to be further improved so that we can obtain all the latest information on what is happening in our national waters,” he told reporters after a meeting with community leaders today.

On Friday, four Malaysians on board a cargo vessel were abducted in a raid by eight armed men in the waters off Ligitan, Semporna.

Salleh was confident that the parties concerned could conduct thorough investigations on the incident so that follow up action could be taken to solve the problems.

Asked if the Esscom was still relevant following the abduction, he said since its inception the security command was always relevant in safeguarding security in the waters of the security zone.

“If we look in terms of earlier statistics, Esscom managed to foil several kidnapping attempts. When kidnapping occurs, it does not mean Esscom is no longer ineffective. But we should highlight this weakness to further strengthen Esscom,” he said.

He said Esscom foiled nine kidnap attempts last year.

-BERNAMA