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Monday, October 6, 2014

Gunboat disappearance a sign of inadequate security, says Sarawak lawmaker

The disappearance of the Royal Malaysian Navy gunboat, CB204, off the west coast of Sabah has shown that the defence of the state's seaboard is still inadequate, said a Sarawak lawmaker.
Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian said this incident would certainly raise questions on how best the Navy could avoid such incidents from recurring.
“Whatever the cause for this incident, it shows that the defence of Sabah's eastern seaboard is still wanting.
Sabah opposition politician, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the loss of the fast attack boat, of which the Navy had 17, “would certainly reduce Malaysia's defence capabilities".
Kitingan, the Bingkor assemblyman and president of State Reform Party (Star) Sabah, said the loss of the gunboat would weaken the security of Sabah in times of emergency.
The swift and highly manoeuverable chobham armour-plated gunboat, designed to operate as a fast attack boat, patrol boat and special operations support vessel, reportedly performed admirably during operations to flush out Sulu gunmen during Ops Lahad Datu.
Sarawak's Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said the disappearance “can't be they (the boat and crew) are taken by people with bad intention”.
Masing said the crew were highly-trained and the boat was sophisticated, making it highly improbable that they were taken.
“We have enough of missing vessels – planes and now ship,” he said in reference to the loss of the two Malaysian Airlines planes – flight MH370, which is still missing after seven months, and flight MH17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
“I pray and hope the missing gunship with its crew is located soon.”
Meanwhile, Navy chief admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar (pic, below) believes the crew of the CB204 are safe due to the safety features and the floating ability of the vessel.
In a statement earlier in the day, Abdul Aziz said the disappearance was most likely due to bad weather.
Abdul Aziz told Bernama the boat can function even under extreme bad weather conditions and even if the vessel turns turtle after being lashed by huge waves, it can return to its normal position automatically.
“I believe the combat vessel and the seven crew members are safe. The vessel’s floating ability is par excellent but I hope there was no leak in the boat due to the extreme weather conditions,” he told Bernama.
He added that the search and rescue operation involving five Navy vessels, three from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Royal Malaysian Air Force would continue despite being hampered by bad weather and rough seas.
The gunboat, commanded by Lt Azri Bakar, which escorted the much larger fast attack craft KD Paus, had departed Kota Kinabalu Naval Base at about 5am yesterday.
In his latest tweet, Abdul Aziz said the Navy is investigating a report that a boat has been seen near an oil rig northeast from Mengalum Island.
He said the KD Lekiu had been sent to investigate the sighting at ERB West Oil Rig, located some nine nautical miles northeast from Pulau Mengalum.
- TMI

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