KOTA KINABALU: Police have received intelligence that certain elements from a neighbouring country are planning to enter Sabah in big numbers to create trouble during polling on Saturday, said Sabah police commissioner Hazani Ghazali.
“In conjunction with the Sabah state election, we have received information that immigrants from a neighbouring country will come to Sabah in big numbers to create disturbance.
When asked by reporters, he declined to disclose the source of the information, the number of potential troublemakers and the kind of disturbance planned by them.
“(They are) from a neighbouring country; no need to be specific,” he said.
“A total of 96 control posts at the land and sea borders have been placed on a state of alert and are actively conducting patrols to detect ‘lorong tikus’ (illegal trails) along the borders.
“We are also worried that they might bring in Covid-19 as the virus has spread rapidly, especially in the east coast areas of Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna,” Hazani added.
Despite the surge in cases, early voting would proceed as planned on Tuesday with standard procedures in place.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 52 new infections were reported today, 36 of them in Sabah. There was one positive case in Sandakan, three positive cases in the Bakau Cluster in Semporna, 399 cases in Tawau and 551 cases in the Benteng Lahad Datu Cluster.