The Sabah-based Daily Express reported today that commercial shipments in the region have been put on hold also due to the imposition of martial law on Mindanao as announced by president Rodrigo Duterte last Tuesday.
It said Sabah traders having business transactions with their counterparts in Zamboanga City in western Mindanao and other nearby areas have adopted a “wait-and-see'” stance in view of the security situation.
It quoted Nordin Ening, chairman of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Transport Cluster, as saying it had become too risky for Sabah traders to continue operating there for now.
Shipments intended for the Mindanao market that have been affected include those of major products like rice, sugar and flour, the report said.
Nordin said the bloody siege at Marawi City in Mindanao which brought about the martial law, has led to a significant negative impact on the business sector in the affected areas.
He said this had also affected traders in Sabah hit by a “domino” effect from the crisis in Mindanao.
“I have advised our members in the BIMP-EAGA community here to exercise extra caution in the meantime until the situation in Mindanao improves,” he was quoted as saying.
The fighting in Marawi has been reported to have taken at least 44 lives, including those of two Malaysians, with tens of thousands of residents joining an exodus from the city.
The Philippine army is weeding out militants from the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) terror movement, who are holed up in the city.
The group is a new radical outfit comprising former Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas and some foreign fighters.
Malaysians, Indonesians, fighting alongside IS-linked rebels in Marawi