KOTA KINABALU: Malaysian police have dispelled talk that the Sulu militia was plotting an invasion of Sabah.

       “We have checked; a meeting of officials from that region had indeed taken place but it was more towards discussions about their security issues,” said Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Hazani Ghazali.

       He said the meeting was attended by, among others, its government officials and was also intended to brainstorm on ways to bring investors to the Philippines.

       “So the information (about an invasion of Sabah) is false,” he told reporters after witnessing the handing over of duties from outgoing Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander Datuk Ahmad Fuad Othman to DCP Hamzah Ahmad yesterday.

       On Thursday, the South China Morning Post reported about a secret meeting of 19 mayors in Sulu to discuss the recruitment of 600 armed militia as plans to set up a “Royal Sulu Army” to invade Sabah.

       The meeting was allegedly held with a senior political figure in Sulu who ordered each mayor to carry out the recruitment.

       According to the report, which quoted a regional security official, there had been spies sent to check on coastal towns, although none had been infiltrated yet.

       Hazani said such allegations would have no impact on Sabah because security forces, including the police and Armed Forces, were always ready to face threats.

       In Kuala Lumpur, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said immediate action would be taken to raise the preparedness of security forces in Sabah to the highest level.

       “The Armed Forces’ intelligence division is also constantly monitoring developments and gauging indicators that can jeopardise security,” he told a press conference at Wisma Perwira ATM yesterday.

       The senior minister was also informed by the Armed Forces that so far, there was no clear indication or solid evidence of the report.

       “Thus far, in the waters of Sulu and Sulawesi, which is the sea lane between Sabah and southern Philippines, we have the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement involving cooperation between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The initiative is to ensure the sea lane is safe,” he said.

       Hishammuddin said he also had a solid working relationship with his counterparts in Indonesia and the Philippines.

       Armed Forces chief Jen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said they were ready to face any threat as the military’s level of preparedness was always a top priority.

       He said the Armed Forces would also step up cooperation with security agencies, especially the police force and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.