Malaysian media calls for greater security<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Malaysian media jostled on Wednesday over
\nwhether better security in Southeast Asian seas would keep
\npirates and terrorists at bay and preserve the steady flow of
\ntourists to the country's beaches.<\/p>\n
\"Our police force and navy must beef up their strength and
\nstep up surveillance,\" Toman Mamora, editor of the Sarawak
\nTribune, one of Borneo's leading dailies, said in a telephone
\ninterview.<\/p>\n
Mamora said a massive public relations exercise would be
\nneeded to restore international confidence after 21 people were
\nabducted by gunmen from a Malaysian resort on Sipadan Island last
\nSunday and reportedly taken to Philippine waters.<\/p>\n
The hostages forced onto fishing boats included two French
\ntourists, three Germans, two South Africans, two Finns and one
\nLebanese, as well as a Filipino worker and nine Malaysians,
\nauthorities said.<\/p>\n
Sipadan Island is off the eastern coast of Borneo's northern
\nSabah state. The waters surrounding Sabah are said to be infested
\nwith pirates who prey on coastal towns and fishermen.<\/p>\n
Even before the kidnapping, many Sabah newspapers had called
\nfor enhanced cooperation between Malaysian and Philippine
\nsecurity forces to vanquish pirates in the region.
\n\"There will be nothing for foreign visitors to fear once
\nauthorities enforce more stringent security measures,\" said James
\nSarda, chief editor of Sabah's Daily Express newspaper.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Inspector General of Police Norian Mai on Wednesday
\nannounced that all foreign boats entering Sabah's waters,
\nespecially from the Philippines, would now be subjected to
\nmandatory police checks.<\/p>\n
Norian however said that Sabah's vast waters make it difficult
\nfor authorities to monitor all entry points.<\/p>\n
Many government leaders, including Prime Minister Mahathir
\nMohamad, say Sunday's abduction was an isolated incident and have
\ninstructed the local media not to play it up.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the press reports whatever is issued by the
\ngovernment without relying on rumors,\" Sabah Chief Minister Osu
\nSukam said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Major newspapers were mostly anxious about whether the
\nkidnapping would scare off the 400,000 foreigners who visit Sabah
\nevery year, many of whom come here for diving and ecotourism.<\/p>\n
\"The beauty of this island which is one of the world's top
\ndiving spots has been marred by the actions of the armed
\nassailants,\" the Malay-language Berita Harian newspaper said in
\nits editorial on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"The incident on Sipadan Island should be a lesson to all
\nparties that some areas in this country, especially the islands
\nwithin our waters, are still not safe,\" the daily said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, another five people have been detained in
\nconnection with the weekend abduction from the Malaysian resort
\nisland off Borneo, a police source said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The five were picked up late Tuesday, bringing the total
\nnumber of suspects arrested to 10, a police source told AFP.<\/p>\n
The five were boatmen and former resort workers on Sipadan and
\nMabul islands, east of Malaysia's Sabah state, he said.<\/p>\n
Five people had been detained earlier this week to assist in
\npolice investigations into the kidnapping of 21 people including
\n10 foreign tourists by masked gunmen on the Sipadan island late
\nSunday.<\/p>",
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