Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar said the police were aware of the tendency of the militants to take advantage of the situation and, therefore, had increased surveillance and security in Tawau.

He said the police knew IS militants were using Tawau, Sabah; Pulau Sebatik, Indonesia; and the southern Philippines as entry points to join their group in the southern Philippines.

“So, we will place our ‘antenna’ (our members) in the region to cripple their access to the southern Philippines,” he told reporters after a monthly assembly involving departmental heads at Bukit Aman here today.

Khalid said the militants wanted to take advantage of Tawau’s economic activities and use it to mask their presence by blending in with the locals.

“However, I deny allegations of Sabah (as a whole) being a transit point for the militant group which instead uses Tawau’s strategic position in the triangle as a transit point,” he added.

He was referring to the recent police success in foiling militant attempts to smuggle their members out of the country to join their group in the southern Philippines.

In that case, police detained a 31-year-old Filipino man in Kota Kinabalu and a 27-year-old woman from Selangor.

The couple was planning to travel to Sandakan before sneaking into the southern Philippines to join IS leader Dr Mahmud Ahmad, who is now affiliated with Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon.

It is understood that Mahmud is actively recruiting new members in the southern Philippines, and the IGP said Malaysian police were aware of this.

“We know he (Mahmud) is influencing local residents, Indonesians and Thais to engage in militant training there (in the southern Philippines) and we are constantly monitoring all activities.

“We are also working closely with the Philippine authorities to address this issue,” he said.

Statistics from 2001 to 2016 have shown that the police detained 537 militants, of whom 264 were influenced by IS elements.