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.