Kota kinabalu: A new Remote Sensor Site (RSS) on Pulau Malawali will sharpen surveillance across northern Sabah, giving authorities a powerful new tool to detect and deter intrusions. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government has allocated RM88 million for the project under the first rolling plan of the 13th Malaysia Plan, based on current needs.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the existing RSS Balambangan can only monitor 70 percent of northern Sabah, but once RSS Malawali is completed, it will cover the entire northern region. Together, the two RSS stations will close the gaps in hotspot areas and illegal entry routes, he added. Several other measures to strengthen security control in Sabah's waters have also been approved, including the addition of 10 boats for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
Saifuddin said his visit aimed to assess the RSS station's surveillance capability in northern Sabah, a known illegal entry route along the Malaysia-Philippines border and a hotspot for smuggling, cross-border crime, and other economic security threats. "I chose this ground approach to understand whether the strategies developed at the ministry and enforcement agency levels are truly running as smoothly as planned," he explained.
The minister also touched on the global supply crisis, noting that it has impacted Malaysia, particularly in terms of crude oil supply and the subsequent effect on goods prices. "The government must respond to this crisis. Our guarantee to the people rests on two pillars: economic stability and public welfare. By public welfare, I mean ensuring subsidies are adequate so that the people do not feel the pinch," he said.
He expressed frustration that just as the government prioritises the people's welfare by allocating substantial funds to keep prices at bearable levels, smuggling and leakages are taking place. In response, he said the Cabinet has specifically directed the Home Ministry to help step up monitoring of all forms of misappropriation. "Instructions have been further tightened. For example, petrol stations near the border, whose monitoring falls under the jurisdiction of the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, will now be assisted by the police," he added.