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Indonesia calls out Malaysia for ‘ineffective’ security following fresh kidnappings
Indonesia has lambasted the “ineffective coordination” of Malaysian authorities following the abduction of five Indonesian fishermen last week in waters off Sabah, the latest incident to underscore the lack of security in the tri-border area between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
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Heri Ardiansyah, 18, a former hostage of the notorious Abu Sayyaf bandit group from the Philippines, is seen clasping the hand of a family member at his handover ceremony at the Foreign Ministry compound in Jakarta, on April 11, 2019. Heri was one of the 44 Indonesian sailors who were abducted by the Abu Sayyaf group and was safely repatriated. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he government has lambasted the “ineffective coordination” of Malaysian authorities following the abduction of five Indonesian fishermen last week in waters off Sabah, the latest incident to underscore the lack of security in the tri-border area between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Six members from a faction of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group abducted on Thursday five Indonesian fishermen from their trawler in Sabah’s easternmost waters off Lahad Datu, about 10 minutes from the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands in the southern Philippines.
Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar said Monday that the government would work swiftly to take the necessary steps to handle the fresh kidnappings to ensure the safety of the hostages. He also expressed disappointment in the inability of Malaysia’s authorities to secure its borders.
“We truly regret that these sorts of incidents keep repeating. It seems to have been caused by ineffective coordination among Malaysian authorities, among other things,” Mahendra told reporters at the House of Representatives complex in Jakarta on Monday.
“We hope this is improved quickly.”
The hostages were part of an eight-man crew aboard a Sabah-registered fishing vessel, before armed gunmen took them to the southern Philippines.
Security forces under the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscomm) were alerted to the incident by other fishermen at 1 p.m. on Friday and immediately carried out a search operation while alerting their Philippine counterparts.
