Sabahans offended over meet with Jacel Kiram - Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the act was like a disrespect to the security forces' struggle to defend the country and for which 10 of them were killed in the incident.

"Sabahans are definitely hurt by anyone who does not respect the sacrifice of these security forces, they lost their lives in a cruel way.

"Especially when they see there are people who befriend and look friendly with those with whom they have a relationship that caused our security personnel to be killed," he said.

He said this when speaking at the Rela with the Prime Minister event in Dataran Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar here today.

Also present were Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, Rela Director General Datuk Kamariah Mohd Noah and Pahang State Secretary Datuk Seri Muhammad Saffian Ismail.

While not mentioning the names of the individuals involved, Najib's statement apparently referred to the action of PKR vice-president, who is also Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar, with regards to the controversial meeting with H. Jacel Kiram, the daughter of a former terrorist chief who invaded Lahad Datu, Sabah in 2013.

Consequently the Sabah state legislative assembly passed a motion to bar her and another PRK vice-president, who is also Batu MP, Tian Chua from entering Sabah.

Meanwhile Najib said a strong political stability was the main foundation to national security in the face of new and old security threats at present.

"If the political situation is unstable, the country will be in turbulence, as what is happening in some countries like Syria, Tunisia, Mali and European countries.

"If the political situation stabilises, the security threat will be much easier to manage," he said.

The Prime Minister said the reality of the present time is that security threats can come from all angles and corners that will appear from time to time. He said these included the threat of human trafficking, the presence of refugees and spreading terrorism through the Daesh terrorist group.

'Daesh' is the acronym in Arabic for the IS militants.

Najib said this required serious attention of all parties especially when 130 Malaysians were arrested for being involved in such activities.

"This is a threat that we need not only to step up preparedness of the front liners but also that of Rela and 29 million Malaysians to face any security threats in future," he said.

Meanwhile Najib said Rela members, numbering three million nationwide, should not only be the people's eyes and ears but also the hands of the government to be a bulwark in defending the country.

He said if the police and military become the main line of defence, then Rela is the second line in protecting the sovereignty and security of the country.

"Thank you for your efforts to continue developing Rela as an additional strength in the national defence system," he said.