SEMPORNA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today launched the Tun Sharifah Rodziah sea basing forward base located off the Semporna coast.
He was accompanied by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Malaysian Armed Forces chief general Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, and Petronas chairman Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.
Making his rounds, Najib inspected security assets and the level of preparedness among security forces in the Sabah east coast.
He also received updates on Sabah's current safety situation and the security features of the station, where he had also inspected the operational room.
The briefing included the station's network centric system and armed forces operations.
At the launch, Najib also inspected the guard of honour by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
The Tun Sharifah Rodziah base is a decommissioned oil rig which was turned into a security asset in July 2015.
The establishment came shortly after the setting up of the Tun Azizan forward base, a ship with a similar defence role, in May last year.
Both bases are placed near the international border and locations identified as routes frequently used by cross-border criminals.
The seabasing serves as integrated forward bases that are strategically placed under the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (Esszone) and supports operatives such as Ops Pasir and Ops Sanggah, which was launched by Esscom to stave off cross-border criminals
Earlier, Najib was in Lahad Datu to launch the helicopter forward base for the Malaysian Armed Forces.
The base would enable the armed forces to respond to threats within Eastern Sabah Safety Zone immediately.
Najib is scheduled to fly to Tawau next to launch the Pan Borneo Highway project.