Reveal stance on Sabah, Manila told

A senator from the Philippines has urged his government to immediately state its policy with regard to a province’s claim to Sabah, as well as the impasse caused by a Sulu army’s invasion of Sabah. 

“I think it’s high time that the department of foreign affairs articulates the foreign policy position ... until then we’ll have to withhold further comment because this is a very sensitive issue,” senator Antonio Trillanes IV is quoted as saying in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“It involves the lives of our countrymen in Sabah ... we should trust the Aquino administration that ... it would come up with the right foreign policy position. But I intend to talk the President about it and share my insights on the matter.”

Former Philippines senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr had suggested yesterday that Manila should restrain Sulu sultan Jamalul Kiram from increasing tensions in Sabah.

“I think Kiram is finding some complex issues... (He) should be restrained ... let the Malaysian government let them just come back here,” said Magsaysay, a former chair of the senate committee on national defence.

“The most important is a peaceful settlement without rocking the relationship between Malaysia and the Philippines.”

A Filipino armed group led by Kiram’s brother, Agbimuddin Kiram, has been holed up in a coastal village near Lahad Datu since Feb 9, demanding the re-opening of talks between the two governments on the claim to Sabah.

The Sulu sultan has insisted that Sabah, about an hour away by motorboat from his strife-torn province, belonged to the sultanate before the territory was ceded by British colonisers to Malaysia.

Although Malaysia claims that it has sovereignty over Sabah, it pays a token amount to the sultanate each year for the "rental" of the state, following an arrangement between British colonial authorities and the sultan.

‘More men around Sabah’

The Philippine Daily Inquirer also quoted Danny Virtudazo, who claims to be chairperson of the state of Palawan, a part of the Sulu sultanate, as saying that the sultanate’s followers have more members spread out in Sabah than those in Lahad Datu.

He said several boats had landed in Sabah with around 1,500 men, but that the Malaysian authorities do not know where they are.

Virtudazo said these men belong to the sultanate’s “royal security forces” drawn from the ranks of the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) and even the Abu Sayyaf.

“The win-win situation is for Malaysia to agree to a conference with the Rajah Mudah (crown prince) and the Sulu sultanate. We support open negotiations,” Virtudazo said, claiming that he is a son-in-law of Agbimuddin.

The daily reported that Malaysian security forces have begun moving in on the armed group, as Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein(wearing cap in photo) vowed never to compromise Malaysia’s sovereignty and security.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the last 24 hours had seen an increase in police, army and naval activities within a 24km radius around the village of Tanduao, near Lahad Datu town.

But the security forces have kept a distance of more than 500 metres from the group and have stationed themselves near workers’ quarters. They have maintained surveillance on the Filipinos who at times walk out to a well just 300 metres from their location to get water.

Reason for invasion

In an analysis published yesterday, the daily explained that the heirs of the sultan had decided to press their claim after feeling betrayed and left out in the peace process between the Aquino administration and the MILF.

Abraham Idjirani, secretary-general and spokesperson of the sultanate, said the decision to show not just a physical presence but actual occupation of Sabah came late last year, shortly after the Aquino administration signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the MILF on Oct 15.

Idjirani said that, before the signing of the framework agreement, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process invited the heirs of  the sultan (left) to what was supposed to be a consultation on the peace deal with the MILF. 

However the framework agreement was finished without taking into consideration of the interests of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

“Until the government includes the sultanate, no lasting and significant peace will come to Mindanao,” he said.

According to Idjirani, the signing of the framework agreement with the MILF led to the unification of the heirs of the sultan and their decision to proceed with claiming Sabah on their own. 

He said the “meeting of the minds” of the heirs occurred on Nov 11 last year in a relative’s house.

It was during that meeting that Kiram issued the royal decree that authorised his brother’s “journey” to Sabah.