6 'MYSTERIES' behind Lahad Datu intrusion: Come clean or crisis will prolong - PR tells Najib

UPDATE 3 Pakatan Rakyat leaders have slammed Prime Minister Najib Razak and his administration for perceived shortcomings over his handling of the Sulu incursions in Lahad Datu, Sabah, urging him to "speak to the people" via Parliamentary channels.

"When you speak to the Parliament, you are speaking to the people and there is a need to go to the people in this instance," DAP MP for Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Teong told a press conference on Wednesday.

Liew was speaking at a joint press conference with PKR MP for Sungai Petani Johari Abdul and PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Khalid Samad.

Keeping silent will only prolong crisis

The PR lawmakers want an explanation from Najib over 6 key aspects that have sparked great public concern, especially amongst Sabahans, saying that until the PM was willing to confront the issues, unhealthy and dangerous rumor-mongering would continue to spread.

"This (keeping silent) will not help us to get to the bottom of what sparked the entire incident. What made it flare up until we had to send in fighter jets? The people are entitled to honest answers," Khalid told Malaysia Chronicle on the sidelines of the conference.

"Also without clearing up these questions, how can we come up with good solutions or formulate the right policies to resolve the lapses in our national security - not just in Sabah but in all the other states as well."

And according to Johari, Malaysia could face a prolonged “political crisis” in Sabah.

“PR wants to remind the government that military action taken may have solved the crisis in Lahad Datu temporarily but the political crisis that was triggered by this incident may prolong. A political solution must be made as a long-term strategy to improve the situation in Sabah," said the PKR MP for Sungai Petani.

Six key questions

The 6 issues that have since become the central talking points throughout the nation and which the PR leaders want Najib to respond to are:

> how many armed intruders were in Lahad Datu and how could they have slipped past Malaysia's security lines

> were the police given clear instructions and information to carry out their jobs during the strikes

> were the security forces given sufficient facilities to defend the country's borders

> did the intrusions occur as a result of failed monitoring and intelligence

> why wasn't the intrusion regarded as an armed threat right from the start

> was it an error of judgment on the part of Najib and his administration to misread and underestimate the danger and threat arising from the intrusion

Botched negotiations between Najib and Sulu Sultan?

On Tuesday, security forces moved in on a group of armed Sulu militants who had intruded into Malaysian shores and refused to leave despite repeated warnings from both Manila and Putrajaya.

The joint military and police offensive had deployed F18 and Hawk fighter jets to bomb a 4km-square area in Kampong Tandou. But immediately after, news reports in the Philippines said the gunmen had merely stood by and watched the explosions from hidden locations about 1km away from where the bombs were dropped.

Azzimudie Kiram, the group's chief, is the brother of Jamalul Kiram III, the self-proclaimed sultan of Sulu. The latter said he had ordered the occupation of Lahad Datu to reclaim Sabah, its supposed ancestral land that was “rented” in a deal dating back to colonial times.

There has been red-hot speculation that unhappiness over the deal and perhaps failed negotiations between Najib and Jamalul had led to the Sulu chief ordering the intrusion, which has now become a political fiasco for Najib apart from being a major breach of national security.

“The Barisan Nasional government has the tendency to play down the crisis,” said PAS lawmaker Khalid Samad.

“The implications are wide and far reaching…we need to know all the information so we can work together to defuse the situation,

The stand off, which has entered into its 24th day, has claimed at least 27 lives so far. The Sulu militants managed to slip past Malaysia's security surveillance, landing by boats and hid at Kampong Tanduo, a coastal village in Lahad Datu.

Malaysia Chronicle