LAHAD DATU: Six new cabins will serve as the temporary command centre for the newly-expanded Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (Esszone) at the District Marine Police Complex here.
It will be the centre for operations to monitor and counter security threats along the 1,400km coastal stretch in eastern Sabah, covering 10 districts, namely Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau.
The cabins will be temporarily used as the office for the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) chief executive officer and administrative centre for the three components of the operations -- police, armed forces and the community.
Three cabins were assembled yesterday.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman will sit as the chairman of Esscom, which oversees Esszone.
National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab said the office would be operational after connection of electricity and water supply.
He said the cabins, worth about RM80,000 each, were brought from Kota Kinabalu and would be used until a permanent office was set up in the district.
"Today, three cabins have been assembled following the instruction from the prime minister.
"It will be activated with immediate effect to tighten and oversee security in the east coast of Sabah," he said.
"Once the permanent building is completed, the cabins will still be used in new locations," he said after inspecting the installation work on the cabins at the complex.
Present was Sabah National Security Council director Rodzi Md Saad.
Thajudeen said the complex was selected for the command centre because it would allow the sharing of facilities such as meeting room because the cabins would only have space for administrative offices.
In Kota Kinabalu, Musa welcomed the expansion announced by Datuk Seri Najib Razak and stressed that the move would boost the people's confidence in efforts to protect Sabah from security threats.
"This proves that our prime minister is concerned about the safety and security of Sabah," he said at the 206th Police Day celebration at the state police headquarters.
One of the cabins being assembled at the District Marine Police Complex compound in Lahad Datu. The cabins will serve as temporary command centre for Esszone. Pic by Malai Rosmah Tuah
Read more: New Straits Times
