Sultanate of Sulu demand the return of Sabah from Malaysia?

[Malaya]

SULTANATE OF SULU HAS FOUR ELEMENT OF STATE, FIRST IS PEOPLE WHICH IS CALLED THE TAUSUNOT FILIPINO, SECOND IS THE TERRITORY WHICH IS CALLED SULTANATE OF SULU NOT REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINE, THIRD THE GOVERNMENT WHICH IS CALLED THE SULTANATE FORM OF GOVERNMENT, FOURT SOVEREINGTY WHICH IS SOVEIRENT STATE. PLEASE..... REFER OR VISIT THE WEBSITE OF UNITED TAUSUG CITIZENS SULU SULTANATE.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION THEY ARE NOT FILIPINO. THEY ARE NOT CITIZENS OF REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINE, THEY CITIZEN OF SULTANATE OF SULU, A TAUSUG CITIZEN.

You don't know what you are talking about. The Sultanate of Sulu recognizes the patrimony of the Philippines over Sabah.

 

[Malaya]

Malaysian troops suffered more casualties in Sabah assault
Written by Mario J. Mallari Monday, 18 March 2013

Malaysian forces have suffered more casualties than the group of Raja Muda Agbimmudin Kiram, the brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu, who led more than 200 followers of the sultanate in their “homecoming” in Sabah last month that led to an armed confrontation in Lahad Datu.

A Tribune source, who has links to the group of Raja Muda, claimed that Malaysian authorities have suffered more deaths than the Tausug warriors of the Royal Security Force of the Sulu sultanate since the armed conflict erupted last March 1 in Tanduao village, Lahad Datu.

The source also told the Tribune that the reported 61 fatalities on the group of Radja Muda were mostly innocent civilians.
“The Malaysian forces sustained many casualties, more than the group of Radja Muda,” the source said.

The same source told the Tribune earlier that followers of the Kirams from Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga Peninsula had sailed to Sabah to fight alongside their Tausug clansmen.

“They reported deaths on the group of the sultan but actually these are innocent civilians,” he added.

According to the source, Malaysian authorities continuously conduct crackdown operations against suspected sympathizers of the Kirams in Sabah.

“The media could not go to the conflict area to gather information,” he added.

The source also belied pronouncements by Malaysian authorities that Raja Muda has abandoned his followers and returned to Mindanao.

“He (Radja Muda) is still there. It’s just part of Malaysian propaganda because they can’t get him,” the source said.

Fighting has subsided in Sabah during the past days compared to the intensified air and ground assaults launched by Malaysian forces during the first week of their so-called Operation Daulat.

But Malaysian online paper The Star reported a gun battle between security forces and remnants of the Sulu gunmen yesterday.
“Security forces killed another gunman at about 10.15 a.m. following skirmishes in Kg Tanjung Batu here,” The Star quoted Army field commander Lt. Gen. Datuk Seri Zulkiple Kassim as saying.

“We believe they are still in the area and we have surrounded it,” he added.

Malaysian authorities claimed that at least 61 followers of the Kirams, whom they branded as Sulu terrorists, had been killed while 97 others are now detained.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday said it would still continue to maintain its forces in Tawi-Tawi to assist in the ongoing humanitarian efforts for Filipino families displaced in the fighting in Sabah.

“We’re going to continue maintaining the function of these assets for humanitarian purposes,” AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said.

Around 34 Philippine Navy (PN) ships, a Lockheed C-130 “Hercules” cargo plane and two battalions of troops are currently deployed in Tawi-Tawi.

These military assets are primarily used in the transporting of displaced individuals, relief goods and medical supplies.
“With the enormity of the tasks, we can expect that additional manpower would be needed or deployed on the field,” Burgos said. With PNA and Jason Faustino

Malaysian troops suffered more casualties in Sabah assault


MNLF vows to defend Tausugs in Sabah

Revival of Sabah claim under review
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 19, 2013

MANILA, Philippines - As the exodus of Filipinos fleeing the violence in Sabah continues, the country’s dormant claim on the territory is now under review by a battery of top-notch lawyers hired by the government.

This was revealed by Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras in an interview with The STAR yesterday.

“Are they kidding when they say we have given up our claim? We’re paying so much for the lawyers to study the claim,” Almendras said.

He stressed that everything would have to be done based on international laws and not by force or violence.

Leading the rites yesterday commemorating the Jabidah massacre in Corregidor, President Aquino reiterated that a roadmap to a peaceful resolution of the Sabah dispute and not just the standoff is being drawn up.

He noted that both the Jabidah massacre and the standoff were linked to the claim over Sabah.

“The resolution of this issue will begin not through speculation, opinion or guesswork, but by pinpointing indisputable truths. My duty is to dig into history to find truths and from there set the direction that the nation should take with regard to the Sabah issue. I’ll make sure that direction will not lead us to violence.”

The President has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Executive Secretary to research and recommend a roadmap towards a peaceful resolution of the Sabah dispute.

For his part, acting Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Mujiv Hataman said they were continuously talking with all parties, including the Kirams, to end the standoff.

Hataman said Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s younger brother Agbimuddin Kiram, who led the standoff, had asked him to fetch them from Lahad Datu after the firefight broke out on March 1.

“At that time, he wanted to be fetched. But I’m sure those in Taguig would say I wasn’t telling the truth,” Hataman said, referring to the sultan and other family members living in Maharlika Village in Taguig.

Hataman also said the commemoration of the Jabidah massacre should help Filipinos learn from history and work together for peace in Mindanao.

Avoiding the issue

For the sultanate, President Aquino’s dismissing the Sabah incursion as motivated by self-interest was his way of avoiding the issue.

“That’s the only thing he could say to divert the issue. What Sultan Jamalul Kiram III wants is to have a personal legacy. If there is claim, it must redound to the Filipino people. If that is a personal interest, the sultan’s intention is to establish a legacy for the people of Sulu and the entire nation,” sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said.

“What is wrong with personal interest if you think of the entire nation?”

More than 300 followers of the sultanate crossed over to Lahad Datu in Sabah last Feb. 12 to renew a centuries-old claim on the territory. After failing to convince the group to leave, Malaysian forces launched an assault on March 5, forcing hundreds of Filipinos to sail back to Mindanao.

In a speech on Sunday before graduating cadets of the Philippine Military Academy, the President affirmed the country’s claim on Sabah, but stressed his administration would pursue it through dialogue. Aquino said his administration is employing the same tack in dealing with the West Philippine Sea dispute with China.

But Idjirani said the President’s statement showed his lack of understanding of the Sabah issue. “For a leader to really understand the situation, one must have an insight of the history of the territory, especially territories with historical connections to citizens,” Idjirani said.

He stressed, however, the sultanate remains open – but skeptical – to Aquino’s offer of peaceful negotiation.

“If someone says something, he must mean it,” he said.

Idjirani also said the arrest of more than 30 sultanate fighters off Tawi-Tawi and the filing of criminal charges against them ran counter to government’s offer of negotiation.

“Negotiation is accepted but what did they do to the 38 intercepted? They filed cases. Is this part of confidence building measures? We have doubts on the action of the government,” he said.

He also said that Agbimuddin is still in Sabah with only 168 fighters.

“They have gone on guerilla warfare. That is the only way to survive,” he said.

Speak out

As more Filipinos continue to flee the violence in Sabah, civil society groups urged the leadership of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to speak openly against alleged abuses committed by Malaysian forces against Filipinos in the territory.

Members of the Mindanao People’s Caucus decried the ARMM’s seeming silence on the issue as well as its alleged kowtowing to what the group considered Malcañang’s ineffective approach to dealing with the problem.

“The Sabah crisis has been raging and repeated accounts from refugees of abuses and killings by Malaysian authorities yet the ARMM leadership had never made known its side of the issue,” an MPC member who declined to be named said.

The MPC member said the ARMM officials led by Hataman have been focused on relief operations “but have not addressed the real issue that caused the exodus of these people” to Tawi-Tawi from Sabah.

But the ARMM OIC, according to the MPC member, still has the chance to show which side he is loyal to.

Hataman, however, denied the accusation, saying he had even initiated a dialogue with the Kiram family in a bid to end the crisis. He also said the government began documenting cases of rights abuses in Sabah after he made a request. “We don’t rush things here,” he said.

Members of Anak Mindanao (Amin), a party-list to which Hataman belongs, have also expressed disappointment over the ARMM leadership’s handling of the issue. They said Hataman had been an outspoken champion of Mindanao until his appointment as OIC chairman of ARMM.

Hataman and the five governors of the provinces under ARMM were standing behind President Aquino when the latter was making a televised appeal to followers of Kiram to surrender or face criminal charges.

Meanwhile, the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno said the government’s latest call for talks on the Sabah issue was a face-saving ploy.

“Aquino cheered on when the Malaysian government was launching a massacre of Filipinos in Sabah and was violating Filipinos’ human rights. Now, he wants to project himself as a peace advocate and a patriot. What a hypocrite,” KMU secretary general Roger Soluta said.

“What will he say when he faces Malaysia? He hasn’t issued a clear stand on the country’s territorial claim to Sabah. He will most likely formally surrender the country’s long-standing claim to the disputed territory,” he said.

Soluta said what Aquino would likely discuss with Kuala Lumpur were the cleanup operations in Sabah as well as how to round up and punish Filipinos involved in the clashes in the territory. The KMU also said the government has become Malaysia’s jailers of Filipinos fleeing Sabah. With Mike Frialde, Mayen Jaymalin, Roel Pareño

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/03/19/921478/revival-sabah-claim-under-review

 

[Malaya]

10 royal houses joining Kirams
By Ferdinand Fabella | Posted on Mar. 19, 2013

Common goal: To avenge kin’s death in Sabah

The Sabah crisis will grow worse as other royal houses join forces with the Kirams to avenge the death of their relatives Lahad Datu, a group of Muslim scholars warned Monday, as the Sulu sultanate called off a unilateral ceasefire and ordered its followers to carry out a guerrilla war against the Malaysians.

“The crisis in Sabah is far from over. On the contrary it is escalating ,” said Firdausi Abbas, founding chairman of the United Filipino Movement.

Abbas said Lahad Datu in Sabah has been home to the Tausugs for centuries, and that the killing of Filipinos there would spark action from the royal houses in Sulu.

A spokesman for Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Abraham Idjirani, said the sultanate has not received word about the other royal houses’ plans, but the struggle to assert the sultanate’s claim on Sabah would continue.

“The (unilateral) ceasefire has been cancelled and our forces in Sabah are directed to carry out guerrilla warfare,” Idjirani said, adding that they understand the sentiments of the relatives of the slain members of the Royal Security Force.

“We don’t know about it yet but given what is happening in Sabah, we cannot blame our Muslim brothers,” Idjirani said, noting that the sultanate has been receiving offers of support and encouragement from various sectors in its quest to retake Sabah.

He reiterated that Kiram did not intend to turn the Sabah issue into a full-scale war and the “royal army” only went to Sabah to find a place to live peacefully and not to wage war.

“[But] this is now a guerilla warfare,” Idjirani said.

On Monday, more clashes took place in Tanjung Batu, Lahad Datu as security forces conducting mopping operations encountered more Sulu gunmen, Malaysia’s Star Online said, quoting Inspector General of Police Sri Ismail Omar.

At least 62 suspected followers of Raja Muda Agbimudding Kiram have been killed and nearly 500 have been illegally detained and beaten by Malaysian police after fighting broke out on March 1, Abbas said.

Idjirani said they were willing to send representatives to Sabah to claim the bodies of those killed in clashes with Malaysian security forces, but only if the government gave them a security escort.

The Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported that the three-day deadline set by the government to claim the bodies of slain members of the Royal Security Force of the sultanate lapsed on Sunday.

“If there is no response in three days, we will go ahead and bury the dead,” Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib was quoted as saying.

Malaysian officials said they had already completed post-mortem exams on 22 of the 28 slain Filipinos by Sunday night.

By the Malaysian government’s count, 62 armed followers of the sultan have been killed since the military offensive aimed at flushing them out of the disputed territory began on March 5.

A total of 104 alleged sympathizers of the royal army have also been detained under the Security Offenses Act 2012, including relatives of the sultan, the Bernama news agency said Monday, quoting Hamza Taib.

“We are also investigating others who have links with the terrorists,” Army Field Commander Lt. Gen. Datuk Seri Zulkiple was quoted as saying.

The same news agency also reported that the mop-up operations in Sabah will continue against the 50 men of Kiram who remain in hiding.

“We will finish [the operations] as soon as possible,” said Hamza Taib.

Idjirani said the sultanate was worried that Malaysia might harm its representatives once they set foot on Sabah to claim the bodies, noting the rampant human rights violations allegedly committed by security forces against Filipino residents there.

Also on Monday, the sultanate sought the help of the Foreign Affairs Department through the Public Attorney’s Office to obtain legal assistance for its men who were detained in Malaysia.

A spokesman for the department, Raul Hernandez, said the Kiram family’s request was being considered, noting that part of its mandate was to provide legal assistance to distressed Filipinos abroad.

Abbas, citing information from Tawi-Tawi and Sulu, said several relatives of elite fighters who figured in the Mindanao rebellion 1970 were contemplating moves to reinforce the sultan’s beleaguered followers in Lahad Datu and to exact vengeance for the death of their relatives.

Aside from the Kirams, there are at least 10 royal houses, notably the Aberin, Al Rashid, Umara , Israel, and Sakirullah, Nassarud Din, Muizzud Din, Sharapud Din, and Aliyud Din.

“They are terribly angry at the atrocities the Malaysian authorities have committed against Filipinos in Lahad Datu,” Abbas said.

On Sunday, President Aquino said the Sabah crisis could be resolved peacefully and not in haste or with force.

But Abbas scored what he described as Mr. Aquino’s complacent and unabashed position on the Sabah issue.

“It is too late because so much blood has been shed,” he said.

“The President fails to understand that the claim on Sabah is another issue separate from the plight of Filipinos in Sabah who are victims of Malaysia’s atrocities, which demanded action and a protest from the Philippine government, especially from the President,” Abbas said.

He said Filipinos detained in Lahad Datu are subjected to cruelty and demeaning treatment by Malaysian authorities, which is in violation of international protocols.

Abbas added that the President could have defused the crisis weeks ago by instructing Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to talk to the Malaysians about the Sabah situation.

Instead, he said, President Aquino issued strong statements and belittled the sultan. With Francisco Tuyay

10 royal houses joining Kirams - Manila Standard Today



Does Sabah merit Asean's attention?
Simon Tay,
Yap Kwong Weng
Special to The Nation March 19, 2013

The ongoing conflict in Sabah at first seemed something of a farce when followers of the Sultan of Sulu landed there with claims to the territory. But the situation has quickly developed into tragedy.

The death toll has passed 60, with losses on both sides. Kuala Lumpur's decision to deploy military and even air-force units, rather than adopting lower-key police and counter-insurgency operations, has come into question.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino has urged Malaysia to exercise "maximum tolerance". Sections of public opinion in the Philippines have been much more critical. Some are calling for intervention to protect not just the small band of Sulu claimants but some 80,000 Filipinos estimated to reside in Sabah.

Does the Sabah conflict merit outside attention? Does Asean, as the regional group, have a legitimate role and sufficient tools to reasonably help the situation?

The historical claim to Sabah is longstanding but Manila has never seriously and consistently taken steps against Malaysian control. Moreover, in the present situation, the two governments are acting much in agreement. As Malaysians force the Sulu claimants out from Sabah, reports are that Filipino naval forces have intercepted their vessels and taken armed men into custody while processing others who are fleeing.

The major reason for this cooperation is the Aquino administration's goal to bring peace to the country's long-restive South. Malaysia has been a key facilitator with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Sabah developments seem aimed to postpone or even derail upcoming talks on a settlement.

There are, as such, good reasons for Asean to leave the situation to the two governments. Yet while discretion is useful, the regional group cannot completely disassociate itself.

Asean is creating a regional community in 2015, with pillars in security and politics. This incident serves as a reminder that what seems old historical baggage can suddenly turn into a flashpoint. This is not the only such problem in the region.

The Rohingya in Myanmar and the Thai-Cambodian border conflict over the disputed Preah Vihear Temple are ongoing issues. In the latter case, Asean in 2011 took an unprecedented step by offering to place observers to monitor the disputed territory.

Otherwise, Asean lacks specialised tools and personnel to broker peace and prevent conflicts from escalating. The group more often puts problems like the Sabah question on hold for many years rather than tackling and resolving the question once and for all. A role for Asean, moreover, is not always the first choice for the states involved.

In Thailand's restive deep South, Malaysia has been asked by the Thai government to help in talks with representatives of the Malay-Muslim majority in the region. In ongoing tensions between China and four Asean member states over claims in the South China Sea, the Philippines has brought a legal challenge against Beijing to an international tribunal.

Most states - not just in the region but across much of the world - wish to first deal with their own problems without external intervention. That calculation about Sabah might yet change, however, depending on how circumstances evolve.

One factor is whether the situation worsens, with an upsurge of causalities. There has been a large-scale influx of Filipino migrants into the state, and there is some danger that the current conflict could trigger anger more broadly, and not just among the small band from Sulu.

Another factor is whether the Malaysian response is judged to be reasonable and proportionate in accordance with international law and human rights standards. This is especially true as the Asean Charter upholds goals in human rights and promises more protection for the peoples of the region, and not just their governments.

But the third and perhaps key factor remains whether the Malaysian and Filipino governments continue to see eye to eye.

Some suggest that Malaysia's tough stance is motivated by Prime Minister Najib Razak's effort to gain kudos in the run-up to the general election. In contrast, President Aquino - although he has so far stood firm - faces mounting pressure to protect Filipino citizens, especially with senatorial elections coming up for his party candidates.

Asean has many issues on its agenda, from economic integration to thorny disputes such as those in the South China Sea. Provided that Malaysian actions are sufficiently constrained and the Aquino administration continues to cooperate, the regional group would do well to defer to the two governments and not visibly intervene.

Yet continuing attention must be given to the Sabah conflict so that Asean remains a relevant presence that, if circumstances shift, can be readily available.

Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and associate professor at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law. Yap Kwong Weng is an associate fellow with the SIIA and a World Economic Forum Young Global leader.

Does Sabah merit Asean's attention? - The Nation

 

[Malaya]

Aquino calls for dialogue to end Sabah conflict
BY SYED JAYMAL ZAHIID

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Manila has called for a peaceful end to the Sabah crisis, with President Benigno Aquino III saying negotiations are the best way to resolve the conflict in the face of widespread domestic criticism that he had done little to help end the bloodshed.

“There are problems that just beget more problems if you try to solve them with haste or force. We need sincere and deep discussion if we are to arrive at a correct solution.

“Forbearance and reason are not equivalent to cowardice. On the contrary, these are the measures of true courage and resolve,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted him as saying.

Aquino’s (picture) statement came just after self-styled Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III declared an end to the unilateral ceasefire and ordered his followers still in Sabah to launch guerilla warfare against the Malaysian security forces, according to media reports.

The Philippine Star in its report today quoted the ailing claimant to the throne as saying that the withdrawal of his army led by his brother Agbimuddin from Sabah was not an option.

“They are already in their homeland so why come back?” Jamalul told reporters at his residence in Taguig City in Manila.

More than 200 of Jamalul’s followers had crossed to Sabah from Tawi-Tawi in speedboats on February 9 and occupied the village of Tanduo in Lahad Datu to “reclaim” Sabah which it claimed is its “ancestral” land.

The conflict has claimed more than 70 lives including 10 Malaysian security forces personnel. Putrajaya said it will seek to wipe out the remnants of the Sulu gunmen unless they surrender.

Aquino, accused as being “pro-Malaysia”, is facing strong domestic pressure for Manila to push the dispute over Sabah’s ownership to the International Court of Justice. The president’s detractors believe heeding the Sulu sultanate’s claim over the Malaysian state is the only option for a peaceful end to the crisis.

But Aquino has so far resisted the idea, admitting that an international legal battle on Sabah’s ownership could complicate relations with Putrajaya.

““We already know how complicated this issue is. Could any Malaysian prime minister so easily agree to let go of a land that for so long has been subject to their laws?” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted him as saying.

Yesterday, Filipino hackers defaced the Philippine government’s telecommunications website, lambasting Aquino as being pro-Putrajaya for doing nothing to stop the alleged human rights violations against Filipinos in Sabah.

“We do not know how you are able to relax while our Filipino brothers sacrifice their life to defend Sabah. It seems you are a Pro-Malaysian,” Anonymous Philippines was quoted by ABS-CBN News as writing on the Philippines National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) website.

“And now you are on the side of Malaysian Gov, many people knew that Sabah is part of the Philippines, We’re not encouraging the PH Gov to declare a war on Malaysia but Philippines must defend it’s (sic) sovereignty,” added the loose hacker group that pushes for Internet freedom and free speech.

The Philippines and Malaysia have, however, agreed that it was within Putrajaya’s rights to defend its borders after appeals for negotiations were met with stubborn refusal from the Kiram clan.

Last Wednesday, Aquino reportedly ordered government officials to stock up on food supplies and step up humanitarian support to Filipinos including illegal emigrants seeking better jobs who have started to return to the republic by the hundreds since last week.

Philippine lawmakers are now pressuring the Aquino administration to file a formal complaint with Putrajaya as allegations of abuse of Filipinos flood the country in the wake of the Sabah armed conflict.

Meanwhile, Philippine Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas echoed Aquino’s view but said “aggressive diplomacy” was the only viable option for the Manila to end the crisis.

“[Let’s] continue … reaching out and [appealing] to Malaysia,” the Inquirer quoted Roxas as saying, adding communication lines between Aquino and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak remained open.

Main - Malaysia - Aquino calls for dialogue to end Sabah conflict @ Mon Mar 18 2013



Indonesian President pushes for diplomatic solution to Sabah crisis
By Allan Nawal, Marlon Ramos
Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer

DIGOS CITY, Philippines—Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is pushing for a diplomatic solution to the Sabah crisis, the Indonesian news agency Antara reported Monday.

“I hope that the problem in the Malaysian state of Sabah between Malaysian security forces and a group of armed Filipinos could be resolved soon,” Yudhoyono was quoted as saying by Antara, which is monitored by the Inquirer in Davao del Sur.

The Indonesian president said that if the Sabah crisis was not resolved soon, he would “pursue a diplomatic approach in the near future, because it’s bad.”

“It does not mean that Indonesia will intervene in Malaysia’s internal affairs, no,” Yudhoyono said.

He expressed concern about the conflict that had claimed more than 60 lives and hoped that the two parties could find a peaceful solution to the problem.

Indonesia once had a territorial dispute with Malaysia over parts of Sarawak and Sabah. The dispute was later settled peacefully.

Indonesia and Malaysia share borders with Brunei in the former North Borneo, with Kalimantan as the Indonesian province nearest Lahad Datu, about 40 kilometers away, where the Filipino force landed last month.

At the height of Malaysia’s assault on the so-called royal army of the sultan of Sulu, many Indonesians fled their jobs in palm oil plantations in the area.

Yudhoyono said he was also hoping that Brunei, as current Association of Southeast Asian Nations chair, “would take proactive moves to help resolve the problem peacefully.”

“This is a sensitive issue,” he said. “The problem must not be complicated further,” Yudhoyono said. “Therefore we must have the right stance,” he said.

‘Door is open’

Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III on Monday reacted to President Aquino’s statement at the Philippine Military Academy graduation on Sunday that only negotiations would resolve the Sabah crisis.

“That’s true. Negotiation is the most important thing right now,” Kiram told reporters in his house in Taguig City.

“But until now, there are no negotiations taking place. As I’ve said, my house is open. My door is open to any negotiations,” he said.

Asked if he was willing to speak with Aquino, the ailing 74-year-old Kiram said: “Of course. He’s the President. Who wouldn’t want to meet with the President?”

Kiram said it would be better if the President himself would meet with him so they could directly discuss matters regarding the decision of the members of the “royal sultanate forces” to enter Sabah last month.

“It would be better if we talk directly without any representatives,” he said.

Asked by the Inquirer if he believed in the sincerity of the President in seeking a peaceful end to the crisis, Kiram said: “I don’t know. Don’t ask me that. I think you have to ask the public.”

“If he’s sincere, then he should (consider that) I’m a Filipino. He should only side with the Filipinos. But in this matter, he’s not siding with the Filipinos,” he said.

Arrested returnees

Abraham Idjirani, the sultanate’s spokesperson and secretary general, said if the Aquino administration really wanted to find a peaceful conclusion to the Sabah issue, it should recognize that “the proper party to the Sabah issue is the sultanate of Sulu now under the leadership of Sultan Jamalul.”

“The parties to this issue are not only Malaysia and the Philippines, but above all the sultan of Sulu,” he said.

He said a comprehensive resolution to the problem “should not be done unilaterally, speaking for only for one interest.”

Asked to comment on the President’s statement, Idjirani said: “If someone says something, he must mean it.”

Idjirani also disclosed that Kiram may consider lifting his order to the “royal security forces” in Sabah for cessation of hostilities, but said the sultan’s order for a unilateral ceasefire would remain.

“The sultan might consider lifting the order for cessation of hostilities so our men would be able to defend themselves,” he said.

“Negotiations are accepted. But what did they do to the 36 royal security forces members who were intercepted (last week in Tawi-Tawi)? They filed cases. Is this a confidence-building measure? We have doubts on the actions of the government,” Idjirani said.

Indonesian president pushes for diplomatic solution to Sabah crisis | Inquirer Global Nation

 

[Malaya]

NTC website and Office of the President website hacked

Tausugs rally behind Sulu sultanate's move to reclaim Sabah

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA TEMPLATE | Diplomacy, dialogue to be used in Sabah claim - Aquino
By: Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com

FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY - President Benigno Aquino III affirmed the country's claim on Sabah, but stood firm his administration would pursue it through dialogue and diplomacy similar to its handling of the dispute over West Philippine Sea.

Speaking here at the Commencement Exercises of the Philippine Military Academy Padang Kalis Class 2013, Aquino took a swipe anew at individuals whom he said were behind the group of armed Sulu natives who occupied Sabah which triggered the fighting with Malaysian forces.

"Alam naman po natin na ang bawat aksyon ay may katumbas na reaksyon at di maaring daanin sa kalburo, mga problemang manganganak din ng problema kung ipipilit din lang ang dahas. Ang kailangan, masinsin at tapat na pagsusuri at usapan upang mahinog ang tamang solusyon," Aquino said.

"Di ba't mas produktibo kung ang paninindigan ay dadaanin sa matinong usapan at kung ito'y isusunod sa batas at sa malinaw na patakaran," he added.

Citing the country's dispute with China over claims on Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea, the President said it was being pursued on a "rules-based approach" and peaceful means.

"Kung dadaanin ito sa pagkamaton at pangangahas, lolobo lang ang problema at malamang ay mapamana lang ito sa susunod na salinlahi," he said.

Aquino said the Sabah issue was complex and both governments of the Philippines and Malaysia would not easily let go of each claims on the oil-rich territory.

"Kayo nga po ang lumagay sa lugar ko. Lehitimo man o hindi ang hinaing ng mga nagtungo doon, paano ito titimbangin sa harap ng buhay at kabuhayan na malalagay sa peligro kung magsimula ang hidwaan," he said.

He said these forced were thinking only of their self-interest and not the welfare of some 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah, who would suffer the backlash of the fighting and Malaysia's possible retaliation against the Filipinos.

Faced with challenges as they serve in their respective units, Aquino told the PMA graduates to always decide based on reason and calm.

"Ang hinahon at katwiran ay hindi katumbas ng kaduwagan, bagkus ito ang sukat ng tunay na tapang at paninindigan, dahil sa ganitong paraan, naisasaalang-alang ang kapakanan hindi lamang ng mga nasa kasalukuyan kundi ng mga darating pa sa kinabukasan, iyan mismo ang sangandaang haharapin ninyo bilang mga kawal," Aquino said.

This year's batch has a total of 124 graduates, including 19 female. Of the graduates, 67 will be deployed in the Army, 24 in Air Force, and 33 in Navy.

The top 10 graduates were: Jestony Aman Lanaja, Maryam Dinamling Balais, Proten Atchico Bonacua, Jesse Nestor Berces Saludo, Joselyn Dimapilis Advincula, Leode John Ruiz Tulang, Mark Ferdinand Villamin, Vanessa Pascual Factor, Jhed Tabangcura Dumocloy, and Maila Agrabio Maniscan.

All gradutes will be commissioned as Second Lieutenant.

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA TEMPLATE | Diplomacy, dialogue to be used in Sabah claim - Aquino - InterAksyon.com

 

[Malaya]

Former Sabah chief minister urges police to stop destroying Suluk identity cards

Former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh has appealed to the police to cease action against the Suluk community in Lahad Datu and Semporna.

Haris, who is now president of Yayasan Islam Sabah, was reported as claiming that Suluk community leaders have urged him to make this appeal, and has written a letter to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on the matter.

"Suluk leaders have reported that police are taking identity cards, and IMM13 documents (of the Suluk people) and destroying them.

"This is unbecoming of the Malaysian police force. This behaviour is against any known civilisation, and the religions, laws and policies of the Malaysian government," he was quoted as saying in the Sabah-based daily Daily Express.

Harris (left) pointed out that the police have no powers to destroy federal government documents except with confirmation from the National Registration Department, and doing so would only breed animosity between Sabah and the Sulu people.

In addition, he reportedly pointed out that Suluks are also human beings and not all have ill-intentions, unlike the self-proclaimed ‘royal Sulu army' hiding in Lahad Datu.

On March 9, the Philippine-based online news portal Philippine Inquirer carried a report claiming that hundreds of Filipinos are fleeing police crackdowns in Sabah, which involved destroying legitimate identity documents.



Philippine official pushes for 'aggressive diplomacy' to end Sabah crisis

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - "Aggressive diplomacy" is the only viable option for the Philippines to end the crisis in Sabah that left at least 60 dead and sent hundreds of others residing in the disputed island fleeing for safety, according to Cabinet officials.

The crisis has entered its fifth week without any signs it would be resolved soon. But Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas said Sunday that communication lines between President Benigno Aquino III and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak remained open.

"[Let's] continue...reaching out and [appealing] to Malaysia,'' Roxas said when asked if the government was exploring other ways to end the violence sparked by the February 9 incursion into Sabah by 200-odd followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III led by his brother Agbimuddin Kiram.

Pressed further, Roxas said: "Aggressive diplomacy is our only viable option."

Over the last few weeks, concerns grew over the fate of Agbimuddin and his followers, especially the wounded, as well as the safety of the estimated 800,000 Filipinos living and working in Sabah.

The standoff led to a firefight on March 1, and an air and ground assault against Agbimuddin's group that left at least 60 dead. As Malaysian police cracked down on Agbimuddin's followers, more than 2,000 undocumented Filipinos have sailed back to Mindanao for fear of arrests.

So far, Malaysia has not acceded to long-standing Philippine requests to allow a "humanitarian ship" to dock in Lahad Datu to attend to the wounded, and ferry back home Filipinos who wanted to go home.

But officials indicated that there was no reason to press the panic button yet, since Aquino and Najib were in touch.

"P-Noy (Mr. Aquino) and PM Najib lines are open and robust," Roxas said in a text message when asked if the situation has reached a point for Aquino to phone Najib to allow Philippine humanitarian team access to the wounded and the rest of distressed Filipinos in Sabah.

The lines between Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and his Malaysian counterpart were also open, he added.

Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office agreed that diplomacy remained the best tack to peacefully end the standoff.

After all, he pointed out, Malaysia has been a long-time partner of the Philippines in bringing about peace in Mindanao.

"Again, we can't look at it separately from what has been an ongoing peace process in which Malaysia is our active partner," Coloma said by phone. "You have a current joint project for achieving complete peace in Bangsamoro. Why disrupt it with another issue that has long been dormant? We have to ask ourselves: where is the rhythm and flow of our bilateral relations? Our common concern is to form Bangsamoro. This is not to deny that there is a latent, dormant issue."

Like Roxas, Coloma said there was an "ongoing dialogue" between Philippine and Malaysian officials over bringing a peaceful end to the standoff.

"My overall impression is that there are continuing and ongoing conversations and consultations between the two countries and these are being carried out by the DFA," he said. "Relations have not been significantly affected by this."

Philippine official pushes for 'aggressive diplomacy' to end Sabah crisis - Yahoo! News Philippines

 

[WuMaoCleverbot]

ICJ Rules Out Malaysia's Claim On Sabah

CHICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) – F.B. Harrison is one of the major streets in Metro Manila but I wondered why. I only learned lately from a fellow Filipino cyberfriend, Jose Sison Luzadas, that when the Philippines’ seventh civilian American Gov. Francis Burton Harrison died in Flemington, New Jersey in 1957, he left a will that his remains be repatriated to the Philippines and be buried at the Manila North Cemetery in La Loma.

When he was no longer the U.S. Governor General, Harrison became an advisor to Philippine Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Elpidio Quirino. He presented to Quirino on Feb. 27, 1947 a copy of the Sabah Lease Treaty document in Malay language written on Arabic script translated by American anthropologist H. Otley Beyer of the University of the Philippines. Austrian Baron von Overbeck and British lawyer Alfred Dent told the Royal Colonial Institute on May 12, 1885 that the agreement they obtained from the Sultan of Sulu on Jan. 22, 1878 was for the lease of North Borneo and did not forfeit the Sultan’s sovereign rights.
On June 26, 1946, the British North Borneo Company entered into an agreement with the British Government, transferring its interests, powers and rights over to the British Crown to become State of North Borneo. It became a British colony. Harrison called this arrogant and baseless move as British “political aggression.” He advised the soon to become young Philippine Republic to take the matter up before the United Nations.

It caught the U.S. off-guard to protest the British violation of the 1907 Exchange of Notes between the U.S. and Great Britain and the subsequent Jan. 2, 1930 Convention. According to the International Court of Justice in a 2002 ruling in the dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia over the islands of Ligitan and Sipadan, the 1907 Exchange of Notes was “a temporary arrangement between Great Britain and the U.S. that did not involve a transfer of territorial sovereignty (but) merely provided for a continuation of the administration by the British North Borneo Company of the islands situated more than three marine leagues from the coast of North Borneo.”

NO NEED FOR COBBOLD COMMISSION

In rejecting a conditional surrender of the Sultan of Sulu’s Royal Army, who want Malaysia to settle the Sabah dispute, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak ruled out any negotiation on the dispute “that has been determined legally as far back as 1878 and subsequently by the referendum conducted by the Cobbold Commission ahead of the formation of Malaysia.”

The Prime Minister might not have been told by his advisers that referendum for self-determination as far as Philippines’ claim to Sabah is concerned is out of the question.

Based on the Indonesia-Malaysia dispute, the ICJ ruled that “effectivities” and sentiments of the people in the area for self-determination will only be at play if parties in the dispute do not have “treaty-based title” to support their claim. Both Indonesia and Malaysia did not have any documentary evidence to show in their claims. So the court turned to “effectivities” in coming up with the decision in favor of Malaysia.

If the Philippines comes to ICJ, it will only be armed with the copies of the Lease Agreement of the Sultan of Sulu with Overbeck and the 1907 Exchange of Notes and the Jan. 2, 1930 Convention that ICJ had already ruled did not cause the transfer of sovereign rights from Spain to Great Britain. Malaysia would have the burden of overturning these evidence.

In its case before the ICJ, Malaysia said “it was successor to the Sultan of Sulu, the original title-holder to the disputed (Sabah) islands, further to a series of alleged transfers of that title to Spain, the United States, Great Britain on behalf of the State of North Borneo.” But the ICJ said this argument cannot stand.

After obtaining a lease treaty from the Sultan of Sulu, Overbeck relinquished his rights and interest over to Dent’s British North Borneo Company (BNBC). Dent applied for a Royal Charter with United Kingdom on Dec. 2, 1878 based on the lease treaty signed away by the Sultan of Sulu on Jan. 22, 1878.

But in an official letter of Jan. 7, 1882, Earl Granville, then, head of the United Kingdom Foreign Office, stated, “The British crown assumed no dominion or sovereignty over the territories occupied by British North Borneo Company, did not grant the company any powers of government and (it) recognized the delegation of powers by the Sultan of Sulu in whom sovereignty remained vested.”

PROTOCOL OF MARCH 7, 1885 QUESTIONABLE

So, when BNBC transferred its rights over to the UK on June 26, 1946, UK merely acquired powers delegated by the Sultan of Sulu, who retained sovereignty over the Territory.

In the Capitulation of July 22, 1878, Art. I of the Protocol, it declared as “beyond discussion the sovereignty of Spain over all the Archipelago of Sulu and the dependence thereof,” following Sulu’s conquest by Spain in June 1878.

The Sultan of Sulu revoked the lease of Jan. 22, 1878 and in September 1878, a Spanish warship attempted but failed to take control of North Borneo. This caused Great Britain to protest and a treaty among Great Britain, Germany and Spain was forged.

In the Protocol of March 7, 1885, under Art. III, the Spanish government “renounces as far as regards the British government, all claims of sovereignty over the territory of the continent of Borneo, which belong, or which have belonged in the past to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo) and which comprise the neighboring islands … from the coast, and which form part of the territories administered by the company styled the British North Borneo Company.”

There was no logic on this protocol for Spain to renounce the property and sovereignty of the Sultan of Sulu in favor of the British. Spain did not get any incentive or tradeoff to give up the property and sovereignty of Sultan of Sulu’s Archipelago and Dependencies. When Spain signed the 1898 Peace Treaty with the U.S., the Filipino Katipuneros aided by the U.S. beat Spain and Spain got $20-Million dollar to give up the Philippine and Sulu Archipelago, including North Borneo.

When the Sultan of Sulu gave up its property to Spain, it was by conquest. But in the Protocol of March 7, 1885, there was no reason for Spain to give up the Sultan of Sulu’s property to Great Britain because Britain did not beat Spain in any battle by conquest nor gave Spain money or anything of value in exchange of Sultan of Sulu’s property, including North Borneo.

That’s why when Spain signed the 1898 Treaty, the U.S. was able to keep the Sultan of Sulu’s Archipelago, including North Borneo, intact.

When the U.S. pressed for the Sultan’s property under the 1898 Treaty with Spain, Great Britain did not object but rather sought an arrangement with the U.S. that would ensure continuity of BNBC’s administration of the Sultan of Sulu’s North Borneo that resulted in the Exchange of Notes of July 3 and 10, 1907 and the Jan. 2, 1930 Convention. The convention did not involve any transfer of sovereignty, according to ICJ.

http://www.philippinedailymirror.co.../icj-rules-out-malaysia-s-claim-on-sabah.html

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Malaysia charges 8 Filipinos with terror crimes
The Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur | World | Wed, March 20 2013, 5:41 PM

Malaysian police officers stand around the coffin of a policeman who was killed in an ambush in Semporna, Malaysia, after its arrival at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, March 4, 2013. Malaysia sent hundreds of soldiers to a Borneo state on Monday to help neutralize armed Filipino intruders who have killed police officers in the country's bloodiest security emergency in years. - AP

A- A A+

Malaysian prosecutors charged eight Filipino men with terrorism-related offenses Wednesday following an armed siege in Borneo that killed 71 people.

The eight are the first to face charges after an estimated 200 members of a Filipino Muslim clan slipped into Malaysia's Sabah state last month and took over a village to highlight their long-dormant territorial claim to the timber-rich state.

Subsequent firefights killed 62 clansmen and nine Malaysian police and army personnel, according to Malaysia's government. Some of the surviving Filipinos are believed to have fled back to the neighboring southern Philippines, while a few dozen are allegedly hiding on palm oil plantation land in Sabah.

Government prosecutors on Wednesday charged eight suspects in Sabah with waging war against Malaysia's king and harboring people who commit terrorist acts. The first offense carries a possible death penalty and the other imposes a maximum of life imprisonment on conviction.

It was not clear whether the suspects were clansmen who had been captured or other Filipinos believed to have abetted them in Sabah, which is home to about 800,000 Filipino settlers.

The men, whose ages ranged from 17 to 66, did not enter a plea, and no further hearing dates were immediately scheduled as the case was being transferred from a Sabah district court to a higher court, the Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported.

In Manila, Abraham Idjirani, a spokesman for the Philippine Muslim clan, condemned the filing of terrorism-related charges against the Filipinos, saying Malaysian prosecutors have not fully disclosed the evidence used in the complaints against the suspects. He said that he feared the rights of the Filipinos were being violated and that there was a lack of transparency in the handling of their cases.

"In the first place, these Filipinos, if indeed they were involved, were just defending their rights because Sabah belongs to the sultanate and the Filipino people and Malaysia is just the administrator," Idjirani said.

He asked Malaysian authorities to release the suspects and called on the Philippine government to provide them with legal and other help.

Malaysian and Philippine authorities had sought for weeks to end the siege peacefully by urging the clansmen to leave without facing charges. But a fatal shooting of two policemen by the Filipinos on March 1 prompted Malaysia to launch airstrikes and mortar attacks that drove the clansmen out of the remote coastal village.

Malaysia has detained more than 300 mostly Filipino suspects in recent weeks on suspicion of having been informants for the clansmen and other offenses, including unlawful possession of weapons and illegal entry into Sabah.

The clansmen's leaders in the Philippines say Sabah is rightfully theirs because the territory belonged to their royal sultanate for centuries before colonial rule. Sabah has been part of Malaysia since 1963, and many Filipinos have come there in recent decades to escape poverty and a long-running Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines.

Malaysia charges 8 Filipinos with terror crimes | The Jakarta Post

Deported Filipinos forced to leave families.

Thousands of illegal workers returned from Malaysia face uncertain future amid international conflict.

Deported Filipinos forced to leave families behind in Malaysia - YouTube

A standoff between an armed Filipino group and the Malaysian army over the state of Sabah has seen thousands of illegal workers deported back to the Philippines.

Some had arrived decades ago in Malaysia and have been forced to leave their families behind amid a crackdown on security.

Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan reports from Zamboanga in southern Philippines.

 

[Malaya]

Gov’t to take Sabah claim to int’l court after review
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 20, 2013

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government is ready to bring the country’s Sabah claim before international courts even as it gathers evidence to buttress its position while pursuing dialogue to end the violence in the territory.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda announced the development in a press briefing yesterday where he also pointed out that a “win-win” approach to ending the violence in Sabah is for the followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to lay down their arms and leave the territory peacefully.

“So what win-win solution they have, it’s all in their hands. We have always batted for a peaceful resolution to this conflict. So I have no idea what they have in mind. I think the burden is on them. We’ve always said that, ‘lay down your arms and let’s talk’. But this has gone beyond that: the violence, blood has been spilled; and so, it’s really up to Mr. Jamalul Kiram,” Lacierda said.

He also clarified that Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras was talking about the possibility of the government addressing the Sabah issue using the same legal tack being used in resolving the Panatag Shoal dispute with China.

“Secretary Almendras said the President has tasked Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to study the matter. If the group finds basis to file a claim, the Philippines will then elevate the matter to the international courts where, as in the Bajo de Masinloc case, the government will be retaining private lawyers to handle the claim, if necessary,” Lacierda said.

The STAR’s interview with Almendras and acting Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman was done on March 6 at The STAR office in Port Area in Manila and not in Corregidor Island on Monday. Aquino and some Cabinet officials were in Corregidor last Monday during the commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the Jabidah massacre.

In his discussion with The STAR editors and reporters, Almendras said there was no way the Aquino administration could be accused of giving up the Sabah claim because they were spending so much “getting lawyers to follow the legal processes.”

In the same interview, Almendras said De Lima had told the media that “we are preparing a legal study on how to revive” the Sabah claim by going to the International Court of Justice.

But Lacierda said this did not mean lawyers had been hired since a study was still being made.

“And, based on what Secretary Almendras told me, if there is a basis for the claim and the recommendation is to pursue the claim, then obviously – as in the case of the Panatag Shoal, as in the case of China – we will elevate it before international courts; and, in that instance, we will be hiring lawyers, private lawyers, to handle the case,” Lacierda said.

Almendras and Hataman said there was no consulate or any official presence in Sabah until this time and that should dispel impression that the government had given up its claim. “The fight is not yet over,” Hataman said.

Lay down arms

On reports that the sultanate had lifted its ceasefire declaration and that its followers in Sabah would fight back if attacked by Malaysian forces, Lacierda said “obviously, they have been decimated so what’s the effect of the lifting of the ceasefire?”

“You’ve been reporting everyday that there are some casualties and, some days, there are none. So, obviously, it didn’t matter to the Malaysians whether the ceasefire was lifted or not,” he said, addressing the sultanate.

“Again, our call here is for a peaceful resolution and, apparently, we are onboard, other countries are onboard, but the sultanate is not onboard in this matter,” Lacierda said.

He decried Kiram’s rejection of “disengagement” as supposedly agreed upon between his brother Esmail and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

“We have done and we continue to do… What’s the price of adventurism? Filipinos in Sabah…We are also taking care of their people from Sabah coming home and we’re providing assistance to all these things. We continue to do our efforts,” he said.

Lacierda also said they were verifying reports that Kirams’ supporters were tortured by authorities as claimed by Sultan Fuad Kiram I.

Fuad, who is claiming to be the legitimate ruler of the Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah, said that many Tausugs who had fled Sabah had marks of torture.

“We are verifying those reports in media. Number one, we need to verify those reports first. DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) is on the ground and they are documenting. We have not received any reports yet on that. So we’ll validate,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said that while embassy officials were able to visit some of the evacuation areas in Sabah “we only follow the reports also in Sabah that the Malaysian authorities provide us.”

“It seems that there’s no fighting as… there’s no bombing incident anymore. I am not clear with what the Malaysians are doing right now. But it seems like there has been no large-scale fighting in Sabah and our Philippine embassy team has been able to visit some of the Filipinos there in Lahad Datu, in Felda Sabahat,” Lacierda said.

He also said they had no new information on Kiram’s brother Agbimuddin, who was leading the sultan’s armed followers in Sabah. “Malaysian authorities have not been able to locate him yet,” Lacierda said.

“As far as we are concerned, our concern right now – which wasn’t anticipated by the Kiram family – is the status of those Filipinos who are now coming home because of what happened in Lahad Datu. So we’re taking care of that now. We’re ensuring and providing assistance to those people who have left Sabah,” he said.

Lacierda said Malaysian authorities have not responded yet to Manila’s request for consular access or legal assistance to the sultan’s followers in custody.

“Malaysian authorities are saying there are security concerns. So we hope that those security concerns will be resolved so that we will have access to the followers of Kiram under their custody,” he said.

Consular services

But consular services including issuance of passports and processing of travel documents have been made available to thousands of displaced Filipinos in Sabah wishing to return to the Philippines.

Two officials from the embassy, including Vice Consul Francis Herrera, left Kuala Lumpur on Monday, to join the embassy’s humanitarian/consular team in Lahad Datu.

There are two embassy humanitarian/consular teams attending to the needs of Filipinos in Sabah – one in Lahad Datu and the other in Tawau.

Labor Attaché Alicia Santos said human resource managers of 17 companies have informed the embassy that their Filipino workers are safe.

“The humanitarian/consular teams are operating on a mobile basis, going to areas where their services are most needed. They are assisted by the embassy’s network of Filipino community leaders in reaching out to our nationals,” said Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya.

The Philippines has no permanent consular presence in Sabah.

Earlier, upon the request of the embassy, the Department of Education and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas conducted a joint “needs-assessment mission” in Sabah to determine how best to provide alternative education to children of undocumented Filipino migrants who have limited access to public schools.

For the same endeavor, the embassy partnered with the Borneo Child Aid Society which runs some 120 Humana Child Aid alternative learning centers in Sabah’s vast plantation estates, as well as with the Indonesian Children Education Awareness Foundation and the Society for the Education of Needy Children in admitting more Filipino children in their schools.

“We are most grateful to the Filipino community leaders for being our pro-active partner in uplifting the welfare of the Filipino community in Sabah,” Malaya said.

Appeal for unity

While the government continues to fend off criticism of its handling of the crisis, Sen. Francis Escudero is appealing to politicians and the public in general to support the President’s Sabah initiatives.

“Let the president decide on the Sabah issue. Let’s respect and support the President because he’s carrying a heavy burden,” Escudero said in Filipino in a press briefing in Malolos City.

He explained that in dealing with Sabah crisis, it is important that the country speaks in one voice. “Let’s not expose our dirty laundry in public. Let the President do the talking and let’s support him – right or wrong. Payback time should come later,” he said.

The re-electionist senator also asked candidates in the coming polls to refrain from taking advantage of the issue.

“Let’s not dip our fingers into it. National interest is the issue here, not improving the image of politicians,” he said.

He also scoffed at proposals that the country send an armed group to rescue the sultanate’s remaining followers in Lahad Datu. He said Malaysia is unlikely to allow a foreign armed group to intrude into its territory.

Escudero said Malacañang had exercised the same restraint in dealing with the Chinese on the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal issue.

“Had we sent Navy ships to Scarborough, the Chinese would have made the same move or even more,” he said.

In Tagum City in Davao del Sur, United Nationalist Alliance senatorial candidate Mitos Magsaysay said President Aquino must personally appeal to the Prime Minister of Malaysia to stop the attacks in Sabah.

Magsaysay also expressed relief that the President had finally acknowledged the legitimacy of the Philippines’ Sabah claim.

“Why didn’t he talk to the Malaysian prime minister? Everytime there is death, it will get worse, the situation will get worse. He should appeal because it will not die down,” Magsaysay told reporters. With Pia Lee-Brago, Jose Rodel Clapano, Dino Balabo

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/03/20/921792/govt-take-sabah-claim-intl-court-after-review



Filipino-Muslim fighter vows return to Sabah

Manila: A Filipino-Muslim fighter vowed to return and join a second batch of armed claimants in Sabah, Malaysia, a Philippine TV network said.

“Once my wounded foot gets healed, I will voluntarily join the second batch of armed men who will occupy [another village in] Sabah,” a self-confessed member of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu (RSS) told GMA, a TV network, in an exclusive interview.

The date of the return of RSS members to Sabah was not revealed by the source whose name was not released and whose face was covered by a black and white checked headdress.

About 100 of the 200 followers of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram who occupied Tanduao village in Lahad Datu, Sabah on February 9, have already returned to Sulu, said the source, adding that he managed to return home by using a small boat that he manually paddled for two weeks.

Sabah is wo hours away by speedboat from Sulu.

He did not say if Agbimuddin, the younger brother of Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, who led the occupation of Tanduao village in February, is still in Sabah or has returned to Sulu.

Twenty more followers of the Kiram family are still in Sabah, the source said, but did not say if they have started a strong guerilla base there to support the followers of the Filipino sultan who are pushing for the royal family’s claims over Sabah.

About 15 from the Royal Sultanate of Sulo were killed on the first day the Malaysian forces targeted Kiram’s camp in early March, said the source.

The Malaysian security forces also burned 30 homes of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were suspected to be supporters of the Kirams in Tanduao village, said the source, adding that many civilian Filipinos were hurt by the Malaysian security forces.
Malaysian authorities have denied all these allegations.

Malaysian authorities said a total 345 OFWs were arrested, 104 of whom allegedly violated Malaysia’s Security Offences Act 2012; while 241 others allegedly entered Malaysia’s red zone, during clashes against the Kiram camp.

Sixty-one followers of Kiram were killed, following attacks from Malaysian securities forces in several villages of Lahad Datu. But only 22 bodies of alleged Kiram’s followers were recovered, Malaysian authorities said, adding that the clashes also killed nine Malaysian policemen and one Malaysian soldier.

Thousands of OFWs from Sabah have returned to Sulu. There are 840,000 OFWs working in palm oil plantations and refineries in Sabah.

After helping quell a rebellion in Sabah, the Sultan of Sulu received Sabah as a gift from the Sultan of Brunei in 1650.

A foreign company paid lease money to the Sultan of Sulu when the British colonial rulers in Malaysia allowed it to operate in nearby Sabah in the 18th century.

The same foreign company turned over Sabah to the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, following the end of British rule in Malaysia. The Malaysian government continued paying lease money to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu since then.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/philippines/filipino-muslim-fighter-vows-return-to-sabah-1.1160147


US keeps distance from Sabah crisis
By: Abigail Kwok, Interaksyon.com
March 21, 2013 12:12 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Unlike in the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China, the United States is distancing itself from the conflict in Sabah, as Malaysia continues to go after a group of Filipinos from the Sulu sultanate wanting to claim their homeland.

US Ambassador Harry Thomas said the US was leaving it up to both Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to resolve the issue as he expressed hope that the matter would be resolved peacefully.

In a meet with defense reporters Thursday, Thomas said the Sabah problem was "not a matter for the United States."

"We do not see this as a security matter that affects us or the Mutual Defense Treaty we have with the Philippines," he added.

He said the US was not involved and do not want to be involved in the problem "in any way."

The Sulu sultanate earlier said it might seek US help in backing up its claim to Sabah by invoking the 1915 Kiram-Carpenter agreement which would reportedly give the sultanate American protection.

The agreement states that the Americans "assured the sultan of Sulu of (its) full protection should a problem arise in Sabah between the sultan of Sulu and other foreign countries," Abraham Idjirani, sultanate spokesman, earlier said.

But Thomas would not comment on the agreement and if it still applies now.

"This is a matter between the government of the Philippines and the government of Malaysia. We hope that anyone who's displaced can be taken care of," he said.

Thomas, meanwhile, said the US was "very pleased" that the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was not affected by the Sabah conflict.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/57620/us-keeps-distance-from-sabah-crisis

 

[Fsjal]

This situation is getting out of hand. When will Kiram and his followers surrender. Also, why take Sabah claim to International court. America won't be there to back up.

 

[Malaya]

FOCUS | Malaysian PM Najib draws flak for touting 1962 'Sabah referendum'

MANILA, Philippines - Even Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is now being criticized in his own country for claiming that Sabah had, from the start, wanted to be part of Malaysia. He made the remarks in one of the briefings where his government was explaining its handling of the crisis triggered by the stand-off in Lahad Datu between loyal supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu who reasserted its proprietary rights on the former North Borneo.

The stand-off that began Feb. 12 has since erupted in violence, with a combined police-military Malaysian force using air raids and mortar attacks on at least three areas where the followers, led by Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s younger brother Raja Muda Agbimuddin, are believed to have broken up in guerrilla units.

Najib’s claim that two-thirds of the people of oil-rich Sabah agreed to be part of Malaysia in 1962 was disputed by United Borneo Front (UBF) chair Jeffrey Kitingan, who said in a statement released to the Malaysian media that there was never a referendum that confirmed the Sabahans’s desire to be part of the Federation.

Najib claimed that two-thirds of the people in Sabah agreed to be part of Malaysia in 1962 when the British and Malayan governments appointed a Commission of Enquiry for North Borneo and Sarawak to determine if they supported the proposal to create a Federation of Malaysia.

Referendum of 'less than 4 percent' of people

In fact, the so-called referendum in 1962-63 was actually only a sampling survey of less than four per cent of the Sabah population,” according to Kitingan, a Harvard-trained politician who was once detained under the Malaysian Internal Security act on suspicion of plotting to make Sabah secede from the Federation.

Najib said recently there was no question of Sabah being part of Malaysia, being part of the task of the 1962 commission chaired by Lord Cameron Cobbold, the former governor of the Bank of England, which later released its findings and recommendations in what is generally known as the 20-point agreement. The Cobbold commission report eventually became the basis for formally proclaiming the Federation of Malaysia on Sept. 16, 1963, with the inclusion of North Borneo and Sarawak but leaving Brunei as a British protectorate.

"(But) Najib must realize that Sabah belongs to the people of Sabah. Malaysia does not own Sabah as the Malaysia Agreement is yet to be implemented. Sabah is not a piece of lifeless property to be fought between the Philippines (Sulu claim) and Malaya,” Kitingan said. “Therefore, any talks between Malaysia/Malaya and the Philippines must include Sabah because only the people of Sabah can decided what they want.”

Kitingan also insisted that the Sultanate’s claim, “whether valid or not, must be resolved once and for all by bringing all the relevant parties to the table within the ambit of (Great) Britain and the United Nations and find a peaceful solution.”

That, apparently, is his reply to Najib’s bold assertion that, like it or not, Sabah will “always belong” to Malaysia.

From his modest home beside a mosque in Taguig City, the aging, ailing Sulu Sultan Kiram III meanwhile, simply replies, with an air of confidence about the justness of his cause, “we will see.”

Political dissent: the United Borneo Front

When he founded the United Borneo Front in 2010, Kitingan had declared that they would defend justice and rights of Sabah and Sarawak under the Malaysia agreement in 1963. He alleged that Sabah and Sarawak were “cheated” in the Malaysian Federation and treated merely as two “appendages” among the 13 states by the Federal Government.

But apart from the Sultanate of Sulu’s claim, and even before the formation of the federation, there have been efforts to stop the inclusion of Sabah as of part of Malaysia.

Before Malaysia was federated, Sheikh Azahari bin sheikh Mahmud, popularly known as A.M. Azahari, also campaigned for Brunei’s independence and proposed the merging with North Borneo, as Sabah was once called, along with Sarawak, to form a North Kalimantan state with the Sultan of Brunei as the constitutional monarch.

The North Kalimantan (or Kalimantan Utara) was seen as a “post-decolonization alternative” against the Malaysia plan. Local opposition was also primarily based on economic, political, historical and cultural differences between Borneo states and Malaya, as well as their refusal “to be subjected under peninsular political domination.”

After his short-lived revolt failed, Azahari fled to Manila to evade arrest by British and Commonwealth forces, which quelled the uprising. He eventually fled to Jakarta where he was granted asylum by President Sukarno in 1963, and lived in exile in Kalimantan. Azahari died in 2002 in Bogor, Indonesia.

The Philippines claim on Sabah was also debated in the United Nations, which the British government rejected. Indonesia, on the other hand, adopted a hostile policy towards Malaya and subsequently Malaysia. President Sukarno effectively sought a confrontation with Malaya by supporting Azahari’s Brunei revolt.

It was in this “weary and turbulent” political environment that British and Malayan governments created the Commission on Enquiry, which Cobbold chaired, with these members: Wong Pow Nee, chief Minister of Penang; Mohammed Ghazali Shafie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaya; Anthony Abell, former governor of Sarawak; and David Watherston, former chief secretary of Malaya.

Sultanate’s claim, a ‘non-issue’?

When Sabah became part of the federation, Malaysia continued to respect the 1878 agreement forged by the Sultan of Sulu granting the North Borneo Chartered Company’s lease over the territory. However, Malaysia later declared that the Sultanate’s claim was a “non-issue,” with Sabahans never wanting to be part of the Philippines or of the sultanate of Sulu.

Despite being part of the federation, Sabah was administered for sometime by the political opposition during its formative years. In the early 1990s, opposition politicians were arrested under the Internal Security Act for allegedly being involved in plans to make Sabah secede from the Malaysian federation.

Kitingan, who was jailed in the crackdown, was also one of the critics of the administration, which his group blamed for making Sabah “insecure by supporting Muslim rebellion in the Philippines and supplying them weapons, giving them refuge and training facilities in Sabah.”

Kitingan criticized former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and the UMNO for “deploying them as voters in Sabah through the ‘Project IC Mahathir,’ despite knowing full well that the same group of people from the Philippines have unsettled claims over Sabah.”

The incursions by the Sultanate of Sulu represented proof, said Kitingan, that Malaysia had failed in securing the safety and security of Sabahans. “Now that the fear felt by Sabahans has become a reality, Najib, as the current premier, must not only guarantee the security of Sabahans but he must also restore their confidence, because security was the number one reason why Sabahans agreed to be part of Malaysia in 1963,” Kitingan said.

FOCUS | Malaysian PM Najib draws flak for touting 1962 'Sabah referendum' - InterAksyon.com




Malaysian hit squad here for Kiram bared

The Sulu Sultanate bared on Tuesday an elaborate assassination plot against its leader, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, and members of the royal family.

Abrahim Idjirani, spokesman of the sultanate, said a Malaysian colonel named Sunny Ng had entered the Philippines with four Malaysian commandos with a mission to liquidate the Kiram family and their supporters.

Speaking at the Kirams’ residence in Taguig City, Idjirani said the Malaysian commandos have enlisted the help of New People’s Army recruits from Quezon to carry out the assassination.

The mission, Idjirani said, was relayed to them by a Filipino lawyer who was approached by Malaysian businessman named Kenneth Lee to talk to the Malaysian assassins.

The lawyer, whom Idjirani refused to name, previously worked as a legal counsel of Pastor Saycon, the sultanate’s political adviser.

“In the light of this development, we would like to ask the government: Have we surrendered the sovereign control of our country that we allow a Malaysian hit squad to perform their terroristic acts in the Philippines?” Idjirani told reporters.

Idjirani said Ng’s group met Saycon’s former lawyer at the Genting Palace, a restaurant at the Resorts World in Pasay City around noon on Monday. The Malaysian squad stayed at the Maxim’s Hotel, also located at Resorts World.

Ng had asked Lee to trace the home address of Sultan Kiram, who in turn contacted the lawyer.

“The lawyer told us that he is willing to confront the Malaysians and stand as witness against them in court,” Idjirani said.

Kiram urged the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation and the military to investigate into the reported assassination plot by Malaysia.

“We have to call on the policemen and the NBI to investigate this matter. Unless they believe that we are foreigners, it’s their responsibility to protect us because we are Filipinos,” Kiram said.

Earlier, former Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari warned Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to stop killing innocent Filipino Muslims in Sabah or his group would be compelled to take action.

“Prime Minister Razak shall have to answer for the unabated purging of innocent civilians and the maltreatment of men, women and children in Lahad Datu,” Misuari was quoted as saying during rites to mark the 1967 Jabidah massacre in which government forces slaughtered Moro fighters secretly trained to invade Sabah, after they staged a mutiny.

Misuari said the MNLF has already formed a team of lawyers to bring the Malaysian atrocities in Sabah to the attention of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

A spokesman for the MNLF, Absalom Cerveza, urged President Benigno Aquino III to take action to stop the crimes perpetuated by Malaysian forces against Muslim Filipinos in Sabah.

A national association of lawyers in Malaysia on Tuesday supported calls to allow international agencies such as the United Nations to enter Sabah to dispel reports of atrocities allegedly being committed by security forces against Filipino residents in the disputed territory.

The Bar Council of Malaysia said giving access to international bodies would put an end to any “unwarranted accusations and dispel irresponsible rumors,” the English language Free Malaysia Today reported, quoting Bar Council Chairman Christopher Leong.

“The Malaysian Bar urges the relevant authorities to permit independent international agencies access to the persons arrested or detained, as well as the displaced villagers and to the security zones as soon as the safety of such international personnel could be provided for,” Leong said.

Leong said prisoners should be treated humanely even as he urged fellow Malaysians to support the security forces hunting down Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram With Macon Ramos-AranetaThe 38 said through their lawyer that they were not given the opportunity to disprove the charges filed against them after the inquest proceedings.

A preliminary investigation, they said, would give them a chance to file their own sworn statements.

All 38 were intercepted in three separate incidents by the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard off the waters of Tawi-Tawi and are now detained at a naval facility in Panglima Sugala.

It was the first batch of members of the royal guard of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to face charges in the country following their incursion into Sabah over the sultanate’s territorial claim. With Francisco Tuyay and Rey E. Requejo

Malaysian hit squad here for Kiram bared - Manila Standard Today

 

[Malaya]

'Stop blaming my father for Sabah crisis. He's been dead for 23 years, ' Marcos Jr. says
By: Veronica Uy, InterAksyon.com
March 22, 2013 2:54 PM

The son and namesake of Ferdinand E. Marcos said the Aquino administration has failed to handle the Sabah dispute properly, especially after officials blamed his father for the crisis.

“They have laid the blame at my father’s door. My father has been dead for 23 years. Yan naman ang gawain nila (That’s what they are used to doing),” Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. told reporters at the sidelines of the closing ceremony of a German government-sponsored decentralization program.

His father planned a secret military mission called Jabidah (beautiful woman) to retake Sabah but it ended in a 1968 massacre on Corregidor island, where they were being trained for the operation.

“The government has forgotten its fundamental function to serve and protect its citizens. It has failed to protect its citizens (in this case). Whatever the reason for the uprising, Filipinos have been killed,” Marcos said.

“They should’ve immediately negotiated with the Malaysian government to stop the shooting. They haven’t done that. Instead, they are investigating a conspiracy that has not been proven to exist,” he said.

‘Sultan was correct’

Marcos approved of the Sultan of Sulu sending his relatives and followers to reclaim the state from Malaysia.

“The Sultan’s method to make the claim is the basis of our claim to Sabah. To say that the Sultan was wrong in its action is to go contrary to the claim,” he said.

Marcos also scored the government for its belated decision to examine this claim and the issues that complicate it.

“The actions undertaken were too little, too late. They missed the opportunity to push forward the claim, and protest the actions against our nationals,” he said.

“There has been an absence of policy for the first month. They do not understand the issue. They have no policy,” he said.

And the government’s inaction has “most decidedly weakened” the Philippine claim. “It undermined the very reason that we have to put forward on the claim,” he said.

'Stop blaming my father for Sabah crisis. He's been dead for 23 years, ' Marcos Jr. says - InterAksyon.com

 

[Malaya]

Sulu Sultanate to ‘fine’ Malaysia for illegally developing Sabah

BY CLARA CHOOI
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
MARCH 22, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — Lawyers for the Sulu Sultanate are drawing up details of a US$25 billion (RM78 billion) suit against Malaysia for allegedly usurping authority and illegally developing Sabah’s natural resources, The Manila Times reported today.

The English daily said the sultanate plans to bring the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as its response to Malaysia’s decision to file terrorism charges against eight of its followers in Sabah on Wednesday.

The US$25 billion “fine” is meant to represent Malaysia’s payment for “exploiting the natural wealth of Sabah”, which the Kiram clan continues to insist belongs to the Sulu Sultanate.

Sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani reportedly said yesterday that the charges in Malaysia were “illegal” and should not have been exacted against the eight individuals who were believed to be involved in the Sulu siege on the north Borneo territory.

“Walang basehan ang [There is no basis for] Malaysia to file charges against those eight Filipinos dahil hindi sila ang nagmamay-ari ng [because it did not own] Sabah,” Idjirani was quoted as telling a press conference in Taguig City, the Philippines.

“We condemn the terroristic act of Malaysia dahil sila ay hindi nagmamay-ari ng [because they don’t own] Sabah. They are just occupant so they have no right to file charges against Filipinos,” he added.

Idjirani also cast doubts over the identities of the eight who were charged, demanding the Malaysian authorities reveal where they had been apprehended.

He suggested that the eight may be mere civilians who were not part of the sultanate’s “royal army” which landed in Sabah on February 9.

Sulu “crown prince” Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of “Sultan” Jamalul Kiram III, led a group of 235 armed militants to Sabah’s Lahad Datu on February 9 to stake the sultanate’s claim over the north Borneo state.

The intrusion has so far resulted in the deaths of 63 Sulu rebels, according to figures from Malaysian security forces, as well as 10 Malaysians, including eight policemen and two soldiers.

Malaysia launched Ops Daulat on March 5 to flush out the armed rebels after weeks of negotiation failed to result in a peaceful resolution.

Security forces are still conducting mopping-up operations today although intelligence officials believe that Agbimuddin has already fled Sabah to the Philippines.

Manila has said it will not abandon the sultanate’s claim over Sabah, even as Malaysian authorities insist the claim is no longer valid due to the inclusion of the state in the 1963 Malaysia agreement.

Main - Malaysia - Sulu Sultanate to ?fine? Malaysia for illegally developing Sabah @ Fri Mar 22 2013

 

[Malaya]

‘Sabah raps terroristic’
Sulu sultan says charges against his followers illegal
By Marlon Ramos, Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Malaysia’s filing of terrorism and waging war charges against eight Filipinos is “illegal,” the sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo said Thursday.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the sultanate, told reporters that Malaysia’s move was tantamount to “usurpation” of the powers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.

Idjirani said the sultanate would file a complaint in the International Court of Justice against the Malaysian officials responsible for the filing of charges against the eight Filipinos.

“We condemn this terroristic act of Malaysia because they do not own Sabah. They are only occupants. In fact, Malaysia is still paying rent to the sultanate of Sulu,” Idjirani said.

“We are concerned that eight fellow Filipinos are now being accused of an offense that carries a penalty of death. That’s illegal because Sabah belongs to the sultanate of Sulu,” he added.

President Aquino said Thursday that he had directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to retain lawyers to defend the Filipinos in the Sabah court.

The government plans to prosecute the followers of Sultan Jamalul for causing the Sabah crisis when they return to the Philippines.

Aquino said, however, that he had an “obligation” to ensure that the eight Filipinos got due process in Malaysia.

“It’s automatic for us to provide legal assistance to any of our countrymen facing charges (in other countries) regardless of whether we believe or not in their cause,” Aquino told reporters in Naga City.

Aquino was in Naga to proclaim the Liberal Party candidates for local offices in Camarines Sur.

He said the DFA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) were focused on the Sabah crisis.

Access to detainees

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters that the President had directed Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to retain lawyers for the eight Filipinos’ defense in Sabah.

Raul Hernandez, DFA spokesman, said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had reiterated to the Malaysian government the Philippine request to be allowed access to the Filipinos detained in Sabah.

Hernandez said the request included access to the eight Filipinos charged in connection with the Sabah crisis.

In straitjackets

The eight Filipinos, seven of whom were in straitjackets, kept silent as they were arraigned at the High Court in Tawau town, Sabah, on Thursday on charges of launching terroristic acts and waging war against Malaysian King Abdul Halim.

A Sabah radio station reported that the suspects entered no plea as the charges were read to them in Bajau and Tausug by an interpreter in the court of Judge P. Ravinthran.

The radio station said the eight were not represented by lawyers during the proceedings.

“They were placed under tight security throughout the proceedings and seven of them were in straitjackets,” a reporter for the station said.

Arrested under Malaysia’s preventive security laws, the eight, whose ages ranged from 17 to 66, were charged in a temporary Magistrate’s Court in Lahad Datu district on Wednesday.

They face life imprisonment for terrorism and the death penalty for waging war against Malaysia’s king on conviction.
Told that President Aquino had ordered the DFA to retain lawyers to help the eight Filipinos, Idjirani said: “Well and good. That’s a welcome development.”

He added: “I thank the President for doing that. I actually expect him to do that. At least now he showed that he’s a true Filipino.”

Third-party probe

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Thursday suggested that a third party acceptable to both the Philippines and Malaysia conduct a fact-finding investigation of the circumstances that led to the filing of charges against the eight Filipinos.

Santiago, a former chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations who has been elected to serve on the International Criminal Court in The Hague, said determining whether the Filipinos engaged in terrorism “should not be left to the Malaysian authorities alone precisely because we’re engaged in a dispute.”

She said that if Malaysia proceeded by itself, it could be charged with “bias of justice.”

“It cannot be impartial justice if you heard only one side,” she said.

“We need a third-party inquiry and fact-finding first so that we can determine whether the complaint of terrorism has justifiable ground under international law,” Santiago said.

She said the third-party investigation could be headed by “someone whom both parties can trust . . . somebody with the . . . gravitas of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew or a former president or former prime minister from Southeast Asia who has retired with the respect of the Southeast Asian community.”

Sabah legal help

Malaysian Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail, who was present at the charging of the eight Filipinos on Wednesday, had asked the Bar Council of Malaysia to extend legal assistance to the accused.

But the bar president, Christopher Leong, said on Wednesday that peninsula lawyers were not licensed to practice in Sabah so the council would ask the Sabah Law Association (SLA) to provide legal assistance to the eight Filipinos.

In a statement issued later on Wednesday, the SLA said it had not been asked to extend legal assistance to the accused.
But the association said that despite its limited resources it would provide legal advice and representation to the eight as well as other Filipinos detained in connection with the Sabah crisis.

Others detained

The eight, whose names were not released by the court, were among the first batch of the 107 people arrested under preventive security laws and detained following attacks on Malaysian security forces by a group of armed men led by Jamalul’s brother Agbimuddin Kiram.

Agbimuddin’s 200-odd group crossed the Sulu Sea and landed in Sabah on Feb. 9, seizing the coastal village of Tanduo to stake the Sulu sultanate’s ancestral claim to eastern Malaysian state.

The Sulu group’s presence was discovered on Feb. 12, sparking a standoff with Malaysian security forces that lasted for 17 days and erupted into violence on March 1.

Agbimuddin’s fighters were routed but managed to regroup in a tight corner of Tanduo.

Air strikes and artillery barrages from the Malaysian military on March 5 forced the group to break up into small units, which have been skirmishing with pursuing security forces in Tanduo, Tawau, Semporna and Tanjung Batu since that Tuesday.

Casualties

Sixty-three members of Agbimuddin’s group, eight Malaysian policemen and two soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
The 63rd casualty from Agbimuddin’s group was killed in a clash with military troops in Tanjung Batu on Wednesday.

Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said a Malaysian soldier was wounded in the fire fight with Agbimuddin’s men.

Malaysian military chief Zulkifeli Zin said a woman, believed to be aged 40, was arrested following the clash with the Sulu group in Tanjung Batu.

The arrest of the woman brought to 108 the number of people arrested and detained in connection with the intrusion of Agbimuddin’s group into Sabah.

Bodies buried

Zulkifeli said that so far Malaysian authorities had recovered the bodies of 30 of Agbimuddin’s slain men.

He said 29 of the bodies would be temporarily buried because of the failure of the Philippine government to claim them.

With the large number of the Sulu sultan’s followers killed or captured, the Malaysian security forces believe the mopping up operations to end the intrusion are ending soon, Zulkifeli said.

Agbimuddin has not been captured. Zulkifeli said military intelligence had confirmed that the leader of the Sulu group managed to slip out of Sabah on March 11 and was hiding on one of the small islands in southern Philippines.

Philippine authorities, however, deny that Agbimuddin has been able to reenter the country.—With reports from Norman Bordadora and Tarra Quismundo in Manila; Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon; Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao; and The Star/Asia News Network

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69863/sabah-raps-terroristic

 

[Malaya]

Sultanate: 8 terror accused are Malaysians, not Pinoys
by Mike Frialde, The Philippine Star
03/23/2013

MANILA, Philippines - Eight men charged with terrorism-related offenses in Malaysian courts in connection with the violence in Sabah are neither Filipinos nor followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said yesterday.

He said one of the men had even assumed the identity of one of the fighters of the sultanate killed by Malaysian forces last March 1.

Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama said on Thursday that the man – identified as Hooland Kalibi – admitted before a court that he had been paid to join the Sabah incursion.

Idjirani said they got the information from “a relative of the wife” of the leader of the sultanate’s armed followers in Sulu, Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of the sultan.

“What does the Malaysian government intend to do? They are lying through their teeth. They are fooling the Philippine government and the entire world,” he said. “Hooland Kalibi is dead, that we are sure about.

“Malaysia will continue to lie so that the sultanate will not get any support from President Aquino, from our own government. Malaysia is fooling the world,” Idjirani said.

Malaysia’s Star Online had reported that eight Filipinos – aged between 17 and 66 – had been charged before a Magistrate Court in Lahad Datu with “waging war” against Malaysia’s king and with terrorism. Waging war against Malaysia’s king is punishable by death, while terrorism carries a prison term of up to 30 years.

Idjirani also accused the Malaysian government of waging a disinformation campaign to discredit the Sulu sultanate before the Philippine government and the international community.

He also dared Malaysia to allow international media access to the territory.

“I think we understand why they did not want international media to enter Sabah. It’s because they’re hiding something,” Idjirani said.

According to Idjirani, a total of 108 Filipinos in Sabah have been arrested under Malaysia’s Security Offences (Special Measures) Act of 2012 for allegedly supporting the “royal sultanate force” which entered Sabah on Feb. 12.

At least 243 others face charges for alleged violation of the country’s Immigration and National Registration Acts, he added.

Idjirani also denied reports from Malaysia that Agbimuddin had already left Sabah and is now in hiding in Mindanao.

Plea for access granted

As Malaysia continues to round up Filipinos suspected of having links to the Kirams, Philippine authorities have finally been given access to those in detention.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday that the Malaysian Foreign Ministry, through a note verbale dated March 20, stated the “procedures of the access in due course.”

“In reply to our requests for access to Filipinos under their custody, our embassy in Kuala Lumpur has received notes from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry that consular access to eight members of the armed group charged for offenses under Malaysia Penal Code will be granted to the embassy,” said DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez.

The “embassy will submit an application for access to the Foreign Ministry which will be processed within three days,” he said.

Malaysia’s Attorney General, for its part, announced that the eight accused would be assigned local lawyers.

“We welcome the announcement by the Malaysian Attorney General’s Chambers that the eight individuals who were allegedly involved in the Lahad Datu incidents will be assigned local lawyers to defend them,” Consul General Medardo Macaraig said.

“To ensure that the eight individuals are accorded due process and fair trial, the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur is in communication with the Malaysian Bar Council and the Sabah Law Association which offered their services in defending the accused,” he added.

The Tawau High Court has scheduled the hearing on the charges against the eight Filipinos on April 12.

“The embassy will ensure the availability of legal counsels to assist the accused in time for the resumption of the court session,” Macaraig said.

The real sultan

As the Kirams in Manila decry what they call lack of government support for their cause, a professor in Davao City claiming to be a daughter of the real sultan of Sulu is urging the government to first help unify the three houses of the Sulu sultanate if it wants to strengthen its claim on Sabah.

Rita Tuban said Jamalul Kiram alone cannot speak for the sultanate regarding the Sabah issue.

“The three houses should peacefully settle it first among themselves,” she said, referring to the houses of Kiram, Sakirawllah, and Alimuddin.

Tuban insisted that her father, Sultan Tuban Wizer Hankiram Sakirawllah Alimuddin I, who died in 1997, was the real sultan of Sulu based on the Salsila or the record of genealogy of the Tausug nobility. Tuban had written a book about the genealogy of the Sulu sultanate.

Meanwhile, 161 people, mostly women and children, have been rescued adrift in the Sulu Sea on a boat whose engine conked out while sailing from strife-torn Sabah.

A Philippine Navy patrol boat spotted the M/L Okay near Tuba Lubak Island at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and escorted it to the Port of Sulu where the refugees were given food and provisions.

The group skipped the usual Sandakan-Taganak route to evade Malaysian sea patrols.

Refugees yesterday reported intensifying crackdown by Malaysian security forces on suspected followers of the Sulu sultanate, including house-to-house search and setting up of roadblocks and checkpoints.

“The Malaysian security forces have started stopping cars and buses coming from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan and other major routes heading towards the eastern coast, checking documents of commuters,” a Filipino employed in Sabah said.

The Malaysian forces were reportedly venting their ire on Filipinos in Lahad Datu, Tawau, Sandakan and Semporna after failing to capture or kill Agbimuddin.

“Any day now, the Malaysian security forces are launching a Sabah-wide major operasi (crackdown) against document and undocumented. The operasi is now being felt in Kota Kinabalu,” another Filipino said. – With Pia Lee-Brago, Jaime Laude, Edith Regalado, John Unson, Marvin Sy, Evelyn Macairan

Sultanate: 8 terror accused are Malaysians, not Pinoys | ABS-CBN News


Sabah conflict not affecting Indonesian nationals
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013 - 11:03
JAKARTA

THE Indonesian foreign ministry has stated that conflicts in Sabah have not affected Indonesian nationals working the Sahabat palm oil plantation of the Federal Land Development Agency (Felda) in Malaysia.

"Until now we have not received information about any casualties among Indonesian workers following the conflict. The migrant workers have been evacuated to a safer area," said foreign ministry spokesperson Michael Tene in a press briefing, here on Friday.

According to him at least 193 persons have been evacuated to a safer area at Felda Sahabat.

He said that the foreign ministry kept monitoring security conditions in Sabah through the consulate in Tawau.

"Besides monitoring the conditions, the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the consulate in Tawau have also provided needed assistance to the Indonesian nationals in Sabah," said Tene.

Tene said the incident has not also affected situation in Nunukan and Sebatik which directly border Sabah. - Bernama

http://www.mmail.com.my/story/sabah-conflict-not-affecting-indonesian-nationals-51408