Muhamad Yassin Yahya, 5th Brigade commander, said, however, that all the attempted incursions were prevented owing to the increased presence of security forces and their constant patrol of the eastern coastal waters of Sabah on Borneo island. He added: "We admit having heard of many attempts by terrorist groups to enter the country via the Sulu Sea and Sandakan but they failed because of tight Malaysian security."

The Sabah police chief, Ramli Yusuf, said security forces had been placed on full alert following the arrest of the alleged terror kingpin Hambali in Thailand on August 11th. "Our security forces have taken precautionary steps and are constantly on the lookout especially after the Bali bombing and the current political conflict in the Southern Philippines," he said.

Police believe the senior JI militant, al-Ghozi could have been one of the Muslim militants who tried to enter Malaysia, Muhamad Yassin said. Al-Ghozi's escape from a detention cell in the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame in July was a setback for the regional fight against terrorism and raised the threat of attacks across Southeast Asia. Al-Ghozi had been serving a 17-year jail term for explosives possession. He had admitted to plotting bomb attacks around Metro Manila in December 2000 and against Western targets in Singapore. He himself led police to an explosives cache hidden in Mindanao.

Al-Ghozi escaped with two other suspected terrorists, Abdul Mukim Edris and Omar Lasal. Police reported Edris was captured in Sultan Dimaporo in Lanao del Sur early this month but was shot dead while trying to escape. Lasal remains at large.