Sabah state police have initiated investigations over a letter purportedly written by Sulu militants stating that they will come to Tambunan, in Sabah’s interior, for a revenge attack.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said Saturday that the police were tracing the source of the letter even though it was suspected it has nothing to do with the Sulu intrusion in Lahad Datu earlier this year.
"We have started our own investigations even though they have been no official police reports," Hamza said when contacted by telephone.
He said that police did not believe that the author of the letter had any links to the Sulu militants, and had acted of his own accord.
The authenticity of the letter is doubted, he added.
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A July 3 letter signed by "Militant Commandos" on behalf of the Sulu Sultanate and Kiram family was sent to the Tambunan district officer, police officers and the people of Tambunan warning that they aimed to start war in the district of Tambunan in retaliation for the skirmishes in Lahad Datu's Kampong Tanduo by August.
Hamza said that police and security forces took all threats seriously and investigated them.
Sabah deputy chief minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who is Tambunan assemblyman and Keningau MP, urged authorities to investigate the letter despite doubts over the authenticity.
"This is something we cannot just leave alone. We have to take it seriously," said Pairin, adding that he hoped the police would find the writer of the letter and "take appropriate action against such people".
On claims that Sulu militants were planning to return to Sabah, Hamza said that security forces were in place to head off any threats. while also checking on all reports and rumours.
However, he said that it was part of the Sulu group’s modus operandi to spread "false propaganda" and create fear among the people.
"They are making a lot of statements as part of their propaganda," he said, reassuring Malaysians that security forces would not treat any information lightly.
