By Xavier Kong
Tiger is intrigued by the amount of news coming in regarding the Eastern Sabah Security Command (or Esscom, for short). With the amount of promises made and oaths sworn, Tiger wonders. Is there something wrong with the entire cycle?
Tiger recently revisited a game on the computer, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which deals with defending Earth against an alien invasion. At times trying, at times frustrating, always gratifying. But off on a tangent, Tiger realised there were many similarities between the game and the situation in eastern Sabah. Both teams are required to keep something out, in Esscom’s case the kidnappers and aggressors-turned-marauders from abroad, which, Tiger believes, technically classifies them as aliens as well.
But then Tiger comes to the differences between the two, other than the obvious that one is fictional and the other factual. In the game, the story does culminate in the ending of the invasion, but in eastern Sabah, there seem to be no sign of the intrusions coming to an end. Not that Tiger does not appreciate the sacrifices of Malaysia’s servicemen and women, but there seems to be another angle here.
While the official word is that there were negotiations that led to the release of the kidnapped, Tiger does not think that the kidnappers would just let them go after listening to the words of the negotiators. And what’s this news about a negotiator’s fee, and what about the conflicting reports about whether or not a ransom was paid?
Apparently, the negotiator’s fee is a sum paid to “facilitate negotiations”, which, in the case of Chinese tourist Gao Hua Yun and Filipino hotel worker Marcy Dayawan, as well as fish farm worker Yang Zai Lin, resulted in their release without any ransom paid, according to the Malaysian government, with comments that the releases were secured through the use of intelligence, and that absolutely no ransom was paid.
Again, Tiger would like to bring to bear that it seems unlikely that armed and hardened kidnappers would let their meal tickets just leave like that. Tiger might be underestimating the negotiating powers of the go-betweens, but really, it just doesn’t make good business sense to give up something for nothing. As crude as it may be, kidnapping is still just a business in the end, with the information of the whereabouts of the victims the item for trade.
Tack on the conflicting reports that ransoms were indeed paid, and the only logical explanation is that there was money changing hands, maybe in the form of the aforementioned negotiator’s fee? For goodwill and to show good intent of course, absolutely not a partial payment with the rest provided in other forms like supplies, medicine and ammunition.
Tiger is not pointing any fingers, or making any accusations, but just stating logic. Even if it’s just the negotiator’s fee, that amount would still be used by the marauders to further finance their activities, to acquire better armaments, more ammunition, pay bribes, and just repeat the process again. They know how to slip in, they know they’ll get an amount paid to them anyway, and they know how to get away.
This may even be an evolution of their raiding needs. In the past, the point of the raids was for conquest, thus the killing and pillaging. But now, it seems to have moved on to financing themselves and/or others, which leads to the change in the way they play the game. With a different primary objective now, which is to raise funds rather than incite fear, the marauders turned towards kidnapping and ransoming, which utilises the skill set they have while maintaining an income.
All things considered, Tiger actually believes the move to shake up and improve Esscom is a good move for the sake of defending the sovereign borders of the state of Sabah, which in turn is also the territory of Malaysia. Stopping these pillaging and plundering kidnappers would indeed be good news. However, the shake up should include the organizational structure as well as the training and equipment utilised by the troops.
Tiger heard that some of the issues is that the forces can’t react soon enough the moment they receive reports of an incursion, with the forces often arriving after the deed has been done and the perpetrators have fled. Tiger would like to offer the suggestion of a quick reactionary force, with teams stationed along the border, that would be able to react to instances within 15 to 30 minutes. Not only would this improve the security of the region, it would also open up more jobs for the people, carrying a cascading effect that would boost the economy in the region.
The teams also have to be able to call in backup and support if they need it, with as little breakdown in communication as possible between elements in the teams, as well as with high command, which would, in this case, be Esscom. This would require training in tactics, readiness, as well as a familiarity with equipment that is capable of handling the communications load.
Of course, this will all require money, but Tiger believes that, rather than paying a negotiator’s fee, the money would be better spent improving the livelihoods of the servicemen and women defending the country. Morale would improve, with teams and units taking immense pride in what they do. The perks of doing this would also include, if not stopping, then drastically reducing the number of kidnappings in the area, halting this kidnapping trade, which would further solidify Sabah, and in turn Malaysia, as a haven for tourists.
Tiger realises that this is all very idealistic, but hey, a Tiger can dream, right? Now, enough ruminating, as Tiger would like to get back to his game, which also (surprise, surprise) includes balancing XCOM’s finances.
You must be logged in to post a comment.