Armed Forces Chief Gen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zain assured Malaysians and the international community that Sabah and the state's east coast was free of terrorist threat.
He said he and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar would like the public to know that the areas are safe and everything will be done to ensure the situation continues to remain safe.
"I would like everyone to know that Sabah and Sabah's east coast are safe and we've eradicated any threat," he told reporters after briefing Chinese community leaders on the safety situation, here, today.
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The event was also attended by Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
He also said that the number of soldiers in Lahad Datu will be reduced and relocated to Semporna or other areas such as Sandakan, but it would be done instages.
"Setting up the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's commitment towards the safety of Sabah and her people," he said.
ESSCOM has already been launched and will be fully implemented in stages.
Commenting on media reports yesterday that Ops Daulat will end, Zulkifeli said: "Ops Daulat won't stop. What the Prime Minister means is that Ops Daulat will gradually be given to ESSCOM, but not immediately."
He said ESSCOM officers were currently with him at the operations headquarters in Felda Sahabat to monitor the implementation of the operations.
When asked if Ops Daulat will continue after ESSCOM was fully implemented, Zulkifeli said: "It depends on the situation. I cannot say if Ops Daulat will be maintained or not, but we would like to hold on to it because of its significance. It means a lot, especially to friends who have lost their lives."
