However, he acknowledged that there were challenges that had to be met.

“It involves the situation in the southern Philippines but, of course, we are hopeful that if the BAR is established after the referendum, there is perhaps an opportunity for a better security situation there,” he said here today.

Liew’s statement came as Filipinos in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) prepare to take part in a plebiscite on Monday to determine if their communities will form part of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

According to a Philippine news portal, the BAR, which will replace the ARMM, will mark the conclusion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) armed struggle for autonomy.

MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim was quoted by the portal as saying the plebiscite would “make or unmake our decades of negotiations as well as peacemaking”.

After a lull of almost two years, two kidnapping incidents were reported in the waters off Sabah recently.

The first took place at Pulau Gaya waters off Semporna in September, and the second at Pegasus Reef off Kinabatangan last month.

Meanwhile, Eastern Field Command chief Lt-Gen Zamrose Mohd Zain said the chain of command among the security agencies looking after Sabah needed fine-tuning to effectively counter kidnapping attempts.

At the moment, he said, there was a “technical problem” in the chain of command hindering the safeguarding efforts.

“I understand this will be discussed in detail by the home ministry, National Security Council and the army to make the chain of command more efficient and systematic,” he said, adding that the current structure was still workable.

Presently, security for the entire state comes under the army’s Task Force 450, although the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) is looked after by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom).

In the Esszone, the military’s task force is also guarding the coast while Esscom looks after the beaches and shores, Zamrose said.