Wednesday 16 July 2014

Marine cops determined to get justice for their mates

The slaying of marine police Kpl Abdul Rajah Jamuan and the abduction of Kons Zakiah Aliep have left their colleagues seething and determined to bring the attackers to justice.

They believe the attack on the marine police unit at the Mabul Water Bungalows Resort late on Saturday was a retaliation against Malaysian security forces and are willing to go all out to rescue Kons Zakiah.

“We just want to bring him home. This incident has been a painful experience for us,” said a marine police personnel, a friend of Kons Zakiah and the late Kpl Abdul Rajah.

He believed Kpl Abdul Rajah and Kons Zakiah had no time to retaliate when the gunmen attacked them as they were having their meal at the resort’s restaurant.

The colleague described Kpl Abdul Rajah as friendly while Kons Zakiah was the more quiet and religious one.

“He would try to perform his solat five times a day wherever he was, whether it was on the boat or even on a wooden walkway at a kampung,” he said.

The attack on Pulau Mabul came several days after seven masked gunmen failed in their bid to stage a kidnapping at a fish farm off Kampung Bangau Bangau in Semporna.

The gunmen could not find the farm’s owner and manager who had started to live on the mainland following a spate of kidnappings.

In a related development, Kons Zakiah’s wife Sharifah Erna Berson has moved in with her in-laws to wait for her husband’s return.

Her neighbour said Sharifah Erna and her four-month-old son Muhammad Hisham had moved out of house at Taman Nilam here to stay with her in-laws in Tuaran.

“She told us she wanted to be with Kons Zakiah’s parents as she felt better there while waiting for her husband,” said the neighbour.

A former hostage who was taken by Abu Sayyaf gunmen from Sipadan in 2000 said the kidnappers would usually not harm their hostages as they were considered as valuable commodities.

However, there are fears that Kons Zakiah might be treated badly as he is a policeman.

The former hostage, however, believed Kons Zakiah would be well treated as he would most likely be able to speak in either the Bajau or Suluk dialect with them.

“From my experience, these people will not hurt their captives if they do not try to fight or run away,” said the man who spent six months in the southern Jolo island.

He said captives were kept in areas close to villages and were guarded by at least 30 or 40 armed men and occasionally threatened when family members did not respond imme­diately to their demands.

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