Jamalul Kiram III, the self-declared Sulu “sultan” is making the outrageous claim that elite Malaysian commandos are targeting him and his family for assassination. Malaysiakini on Wednesday reproduced a report from Philippine news portal Interaksyon that had Abraham Idjirani, the sultanate’s spokesperson and secretary general saying a Malaysian colonel he named as Sunny Ng had arrived in the Philippines with a four-man “hit squad” and enlisted the services of three people from the New People’s Army.
On the battlefront, there have been on-and-off skirmishes between Malaysian security forces and the Sulu gunmen. One enemy was shot dead – again in Tanjung Batu – on the Wednesday itself, bringing the death toll to 63. An unarmed female militant in her late 40s was also arrested.
Armed Forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Mohd Zain said the incident was a follow-up to an earlier shoot-out which left a soldier with an injured finger due to bullet fragments.
And eight Filipinos were charged in the High Court in Tawau yesterday with engaging in terrorist activities in Sabah. This is the second time that a charge for waging a war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (i.e. King) is made in the country after an incident by the Al-Maunah group at Bukit Jenalik Sauk, Perak, in 2000. Media reports were not specific and I have a question. These Filipinos – were they referred to by nationality or by country-of-origin? Meaning, are they Philippine citizens or Malaysians of Filipino origin?
One of the men, Hooland Kalbi, who spoke in the Bajau language and which was translated by the court interpreter, said he was asked to participate in the Lahad Datu “intrusion” and paid to do so by someone. Another accused, Timhar Hadir told the court that he entered Malaysia using an international passport! I don’t want to comment any further but I sincerely hope that the court trial will not turn into a circus!
By the way, Philippine Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras in an interview with The Philippine Star on Monday said 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.
But prominent historian Khoo Kay Kim – the father to Eddin whom I blogged about yesterday – had said that the International Court of Justice will rule in favor of Malaysia if the country agrees with the Philippines to contest the claim over Sabah at the world’s highest court (The Star, March 21, 2013, p 20).
The so-called "war" is petering out or so it seems and the legal and political process has begun.
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