Deputy Speaker rejects motion on Sabah murder-kidnapping, says not urgent

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Despite rising concerns over the authority’s effectiveness in securing Sabah’s borders, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee today rejected an urgent motion to debate the murder and kidnapping of Taiwanese tourists on Pom-Pom Island by suspected terrorists.
The motion, moved by Kota Kinabalu DAP lawmaker Jimmy Wong and later from his Sandakan colleague Wong Tien Fatt, was rejected on grounds “that it is under investigation”, making it “of no urgency”.
“How can a matter of national security be of no urgency? Everyone in Sabah now is afraid for their safety,” Woo told a press conference in Parliament here.
The Kota Kinabalu MP argued that the incident was tantamount to a national threat as Malaysian borders had been breached by armed groups similar to the Lahad Datu incident that saw a band of Sulu militants occupying the northern state of Sabah.
“They should at least allow the motion to be tabled so we can discuss on a solution,” Seputeh DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok said at the same press conference.
--Themalaymail