Advanced Technology To Enhance Security

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said that Sabah will continue to modernise assets and adopt advanced technology - including artificial intelligence (AI), drones, radar, and big data analysis - to strengthen security in the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSZone).

“We want to strengthen the use of AI in operations so that our security system is digitally resilient and is effectively responsive to threats. Sabah holds a strategic position in the region, with a coastline of 1,400 kilometres, and it serves as the nation’s frontline in Borneo and the Sulu Sea. Strengthening security not only protects the people, but also opens opportunities for the development of border towns as new economic gateways for the State,” Hajiji said at the SMJ Roadshow Programme, held in conjunction with the Chief Minister’s Security Inspection Visit to the ESSZone at Lahad Datu on 6 May 2026.

Development in the ESSZone area will be implemented holistically by balancing security requirements with economic and social development, Hajiji said. The Chief Minister said that the maritime sector and Blue Economy have been identified as new growth drivers under SMJ 2.0 encompassing the modern fisheries industry, marine tourism, and the development of coastal and border towns. Therefore, the security of the State’s waters must be secured. Hajiji also stressed that the responsibility of maintaining security does not rest solely on the shoulders of security forces, but requires cooperation from all parties, including local communities as a strategic partner to the security forces.