Families of 21 Sipadan hostages wait in anxiety

Families of 21 Sipadan hostages wait in anxiety

SEMPORNA, Malaysia (AFP): Families of the 21 hostages abducted
from a Malaysian resort off Kalimantan were by Thursday still
anxious but hopeful they would be safely returned to their loved
ones.

Norisah Musbaniah, 36, wife of policeman Abdul Jawah Salawat,
told AFP she felt "really anxious and worried about his safety"
following his abduction along with 20 others by gunmen on Sipadan
island late on Sunday.

She said the last time she and their three children -- two
girls and a boy aged between 15 and one -- saw her husband was on
April 19.

"Before he left for duty to Sipadan, he asked me to take care
of the children and told them to work hard and pray," she said.

"We are having daily prayers for his safety," she said in an
interview from her humble wooden house in a village in Semporna,
which is 45 minutes away by boat to Sipadan.

Norisah said her 39-year-old husband, who had been in the
police force for 13 years, is a "pious, patient and helpful
person." Police officials told her two days ago that her husband
was safe, she said.

"The police advised me to be patient and take care of the
family. They promised me they will do whatever they can to bring
him back," she said.

Norisah said her husband's disappearance had taken a toll on
her life.

"I miss my husband. I have no appetite to eat ... but I
believe he is safe," she said. Asked if she would urge him to
change his job if he returns, she said: "No. That is his job, I
won't ask him to stop."

Filipino Joy Acune, 23, the wife of 41-year-old Roland Ullah,
told reporters that she had sought help from their relatives in
Zamboanga in the southern Philippines.

"I am worried about my husband," she said in tears. "I have
sought their assistance to find my husband."

The couple, both from Zamboanga, have a two-year-old son.
A policeman who works with Abdul Jawah said he was shocked to
hear of the incident.

"This is the first time a policeman had been abducted from
here but I am confident he is safe because he is of Bajau origin.
Bajau and Suluk have close affinities," said the officer who
declined to be named.

"I think he may be released much earlier from the others."
He said the incident was partly due to easy access of Filipinos
into Sabah waters, with some of them even holding Malaysian
identity cards and have families on both sides.

Security in Semporna has been beefed up since the weekend
abduction, with visible signs of police and paramilitary
personnels armed with assault rifles patrolling the streets and
several seen on building tops.

A policeman on duty said additional manpower had been deployed
to the town to reinforce some 90 officers.

Tourists were still seen here, with a dive tour agent saying
that most of them were making a detour to nearby Mabul island
instead of Sipadan following the incident.

An Australian diving instructor Peter Lawless said he knew two
of the captives -- Malaysian dive master Vincent Kwong and cook
Kua Yu Loong.

"They are my close friends. I hope they are safe," he said,
adding that the kidnapping appeared to be well-organized.

The gunmen seized three Germans, two French nationals, two
South Africans, two Finns, a Lebanese woman, nine Malaysians and
two Filipinos.

Philippine authorities said the hostages had been taken by
their Muslim rebel captors to Jolo, the biggest island in the
Sulu group which is close to Sabah.

The U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur, meanwhile, warned its
citizens planning to travel to a Malaysian resort island to take
extra security precautions following the weekend abduction.

"U.S. citizens considering travel to Sipadan and the adjacent
areas of Tawau and Semporna on the Sabah mainland are urged to
review their security procedures, to remain vigilant to their
surroundings and to exercise caution," it said in a statement on
Thursday.