KOTA KINABALU, Feb 28 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor had directed the Sabah police to heighten security surveillance in the run-up to the presidential election of the neighbouring country, the Philippines.

Hajiji said he wanted the police to monitor the situation since the issue of Sabah’s claim would always be a hot topic used by Philippine presidential candidates to gain support from voters.

"The heat from the Philippines presidential election that will be held on May 9 needs to be monitored closely by our police, especially the Special Branch,” he said in a statement here today.

Earlier, Hajiji visited the Sabah police contingent headquarters in Kepayan. Also present were Sabah Federal Secretary Datuk Sarul Bahiyah Abu and Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah.

Hajiji also said he was satisfied with the overall security in the state.

"Based on the briefing by the Sabah Police Commissioner and his officers, I am glad to hear that we are in the good hands of the PDRM (Polis Diraja Malaysia),” he said.

On the issue of Sabah being used as a transit for illicit drug trafficking, Hajiji hoped the police would continue to monitor the situation because the spillover of the substances into the state would create major social issues. — Bernama