KOTA KINABALU: Investors in the state, including in the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu are assured that the government is guaranteeing their safety and security.
Speaking to reporters after a Chinese New Year dinner reception hosted by the Ministry of Industrial Development at a resort on Saturday night, its minister, Datuk Raymond Tan said that the government does not compromise on security.
He stressed that the government does not only protect the people but the investments too. “Here in Sabah, we invite investors to set up businesses, and it is our responsibility to protect them; we’re not going to leave them alone to fend for themselves should anything happen, we share the risks.”
“I always told them (the investors) that we, the government, are their partners and we guarantee their safety,” he said.
Tan added that as far as the state government is concerned, he has confidence in the police force, the military, the chief minister as the chairman of Security Council of Sabah, and the prime minister in ensuring the security of the nation.
He said that so far, none of the investors in POIC has expressed their worries following the intrusion in Lahad Datu. The investors, he said, understood that the intruders are just a small group of people who came to create a minor problem that would not affect them or their investments negatively.
“They told me that they are monitoring the situation and they understand what happened, and how we are handling the situation,” he said, adding that the government recognises the seriousness of the situation, but at the same time understand that they are dealing with human lives, therefore choosing to handle it peacefully.
However, he said that despite being patient and peaceful, the government is also firm in its stance on security.
Tan said that when security is compromised, the government does not hesitate to exercise its military muscle in order to ensure the safety of the nation.
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