The Lahad Datu district officer admitted he knew about a planned invasion of Lahad Datu by Sulu gunmen two weeks before the Feb 12 intrusion took place.
Zulkifli Nasir told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants on Tuesday that he was kept informed regarding the matter by the district police chief in his capacity as the district’s administrative officer.
“As a district officer and chairman of the security council for my district, I was bound to receive such information, but had to keep it away from public knowledge as it was ‘top secret’,” he said.
Zulkifli also revealed that daily meetings were held between the relevant authorities to discuss the matter, and two weeks after getting the information from the district police chief, he said steps were taken to contain the Sulu gunmen at Kampung Tanduo, and this prevented the planned attack on Lahad Datu town.
“The intrusion went as far as Kampung Tanduo, and for this, I think the police have done their part in preventing the attack,” he said.
Later, during the questioning session, panel chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim cautioned lawyer Yunof Maringking, who represented the Sabah Law Association, not to deliberate too much on the Lahad Datu intrusion because of the ongoing trials for 30 suspected Sulu gunmen as well as that of Special Branch officer Kpl Hassan Basri.
Shim said he did not want the trials to be affected by testimony from the RCI.
Meanwhile, Semporna district officer Abdul Mohd Ibnu Mohd Kadir spoke about the difficulties he faced in upholding law in his district.
“Many illegal immigrants believe that one day Semporna will return to what they deem is its rightful owner, the Sultan of Sulu,” said Ibnu, adding that foreigners posed a threat to the community as they believed that the Sulu Sultanate would take control of Semporna and were not afraid to commit crimes.
“From my experience as a district officer for the past five years here, I got to know that these people do not mind going to prison because they say Sabah prison food and life is far better than their lives back home.”
In another instance, a member of the so-called Sulu Sultanate who lived in a government-owned house refused to leave even when told by Semporna district office personnel, and Ibnu received letters from self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram asking him not to evict the man, who had previously served the state government.
Ibnu, who did not disclose the exact nature of the relationship between the man and Jamalul, cited all these as examples of the many problems they faced in tackling the illegal immigrant and squatter issues there.
He said the 2010 census of the district estimated that there were 24,000 squatters living in 18 colonies.
Zulkifli also said that political interference had hindered the demolition of squatter colonies that posed security threats.
“There were politicians who asked me to be careful in destroying these structures, and if possible, to do it after elections,” he said, adding that the presence of foreigners in the district was normal as Lahad Datu was one of the main entry points into Sabah.
Two other district officers testified at the inquiry, telling about the problems brought by foreigners and suggestions on how to overcome them.
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