Lahad Datu is a backwater town in a remote part of Sabah, Malaysia. Most Malaysians can hardly recall its existence, but today this town is in the international spotlight after a group of some 200 armed militants invaded the area and held the country to ransom.
Most Malaysians have shrugged off the of the invasion without lifting an eyebrow. At the back of their minds, they’d have expected the Military to go in and storm the area and kicked the intruders and their asses back to oblivion. It should have been yesterday’s news many yesterdays ago.
But the word around town is Prime Minister Najib Razak still thinks he can capitalize on the incident to elevate himself to 'Hero' status and save the Umno-BN coalition from the jaws of defeat in the coming 13th general election.
Public Outrage
Anyway, after days of silence, Malaysians started to sit up wondering what was taking the Malaysian government so long to settle the matter. Those days have now stretched into weeks and Malaysians have been rushed through a whole gamut of emotions by the authorities’ pussy-footing on the crisis.
From the initial doubt and sarcasm of the government's ability to handle the crisis, to fear and panic when the first shots were fired and the death toll climbed and now back to square - doubt and disdain over the motives of the government - i.e. Naib and Umno.
Conspiracies theories are after all the hallmark of Umno and former premier Mahathir Mohamad. From the May 13, 1969 racial riots to stripping the Sultans' of their power, to sacking and jailing Anwar in 1998 right up to Sodomy II, Datuk T sex scandal and the outrageous Christian state accusations against Lim Guan Eng and the DAP - what would Umno not dare to do to cling to power! This question perhaps sums up the feelings of most Malaysians now.
Back in Sabah, the rebel group of invaders are still purportedly trapped in Kampong Tanduo and surrounded from all sides, with no escape routes it seems. But yet, there is still a total news blackout on what is really happening there. All we have is official information that has been filtered and released to the controlled-media, where it goes through another round of screening by overzealous editors eager to show their 'loyalty' to the BN and catch the attention of top decision-makers. As for the foreign press, even Al Jazeera journalists were ejected and barred from the area.
Today, it is hard for Malaysians not to speculate of a ‘sandiwara’ (playacting) by the BN Government in light of the current situation which has been aggravated to a full-scale crisis. The truth is never easy to confront but the inaction of the authorities to swiftly end the standoff has caused the deaths of 8 Malaysian police servicemen and more than 50 rebels.
All these deaths could have been avoided if the authorities had acted swiftly to contain the situation instead of rushing to play the 'sandiwara' card and attract even more suspicion against themselves. Certainly, they win the 'thick-skin' champions award by trying to portray themselves as patriots and heroes when they should be grilled and punished for not doing their jobs better. Instead of calling for demos against PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua, they should be demanding that Najib, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein as well as Defense Minister Zahid Hamidi be sacked on the spot!
Puzzled by the govt’s actions: Is Najib hiding something?
Firstly, why in the beginning did the government negotiate with these terrorists? Any Military strategist would concur that ‘negotiations’ are the last resort, and only when we are losing the battle! There is simply no reason to negotiate with a band of wide-eyed bandits, when our superior Armed Forces could easily have bombed them out of existence.
Is the Najib administration hiding something, did Najib invite them over as has been alleged by a top Moro fighter? Indeed, Malaysians have been executed for possession of firearms and hard drugs. Yet we treated this group with respect, fed them, and even negotiated with them.
"From the time of Alexander the Great, the military tactic has always been to surround and lay siege. First things to do - cut off water and food supplies. Weaken the enemy and then pounce. But what did our authorities do at the start ... they drank 'teh-tarik' with the intruders and let them walk all over their heads," a well-informed military source told Malaysia Chronicle, referring to Najib's soft approach and refusal to do anything for more than 3 weeks after the detection of the intruders in Lahad Datu.
No wonder, some people speculated that the invasion was a charade that turned awry. Something like Teoh Beng Hock's interrogation, where MACC officers allegedly lost control of the situation and this led to his death. There was indeed intense speculation that the intrusion was to intimidate the witnesses appearing before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrant, as well as to frighten native Sabahans to soften their stance on illegal citizenship-for votes, and to coerce indigenous Sabahans to vote for BN again. Some even believed that it was to take the heat off Chief Minister Musa Aman and his connection to a RM900mil Ponzi scam operated by his nephew, Manuel Amalilio.
Project M and delaying elections in Sabah
Many people feared that the Lahad Datu crisis was the prelude for the BN government to delay elections in Sabah. And each day that passes, this looks to be the most feasible of the slew of speculation.
The dangers and risks of the BN government's action in selling our sovereignty and land in Sabah to foreign illegals by according them citizenship in exchange for votes have also become very clear. We are now reaping the ill-effects of Mahathir Mohamad's Project I.C. No wonder the Umno has rushed to point the finger at Anwar Ibrahim and Tian Chua.
Without doubt, the Lahad Datu crisis has woken everyone in the country up to the existence of Project M and the vast amount of damage this hideous scam has cost Sabah and the country.
It is inevitable that every finger is pointing back to its chief architect who ruthlessly sold out the sovereignty of Sabah state just to gain more votes to stay in power. In the process, we have added more than a million foreign immigrants to our population and given them the right to vote and chart the future of this country.
This is why many experts say that today, the Philippines has no need to stake its claim on Sabah anymore. With the number of ethnic Filipinos residing in the state, Sabah is as good as being a Filipino province!
A bizarre crisis: More than meets the eye
It is really absurd that the Sultan of Sulu is able to invade Sabah with a band of just 200 people comprising only 30 armed militants, while the Malaysian government continues to remain at a loss as to how to bring to an end the outrageous intrusion and the resultant revenge killings.
Complaints in the past on Sabah’s porous borders and the need to step up security had fallen on deaf ears with foreigners sneaking in and out of Sabah like it was their second home. Some of them are armed to the teeth with M16’s migrating between the Pilipino Islands and Sabah within the last few decades, many even engaging in dubious trade.
Towns like Tawau used to have more foreigners than locals. Foreigners without papers could move around with ease even in the presence of security blocks just so long as they waved their wallets as they pass through.
It is even rumoured that the invasion of Sabah started way back with the regular arrivals of Filipinos who blended in with the local folk. In time they received citizenship and the right to vote. Many became successful and were able to support their relatives who made the exodus to Sabah to start a new life.
Today, there is an estimated 800,000 Filipinos from the Suluk and BangsaMoro clans residing in East Malaysia, with a large number possessing blue Malaysian IC’s (citizenship document).
Should there be a Civil War resulting from Najib's poor handling of the Lahad Datu crisis, Filipino Malaysians would be torn between their loyalty to Malaysia and to their clan brothers. We can be pretty sure they will not sit around and watch as their compatriots die in the line of unfair fire, stirred up by a federal government they are not happy with and which has never taken much trouble to recognize them or their needs.
Police and the wrong troops to task
The role of the Malaysian Police is to ensure Internal Security while the role of the Malaysian Army is to defend the country against our enemies. It is not surprising that many Malaysians were at a loss as to why the police were sent in to raid Kampong Tanduo on March 1, the day the first attack was launched.
Many argued that due to the incompetence of the Najib administration, our men in blue were mowed down in a hail of bullets. Some retired generals opined that the "wrong troops to task" were applied. But instead of answering to the people, especially the families of the dead, bravely and honestly, the Najib administration could only think of sticking Tian Chua out to be their scapegoat.
Tian's purported 'mati katak' comments was used to stir public indignation, while Najib and cohorts slipped quietly into the background to escape the heat that should have been meant for them.
Yes, Malaysians are deeply saddened at the untimely demise of the victims. All steps that can be taken to reduce the death toll - even for the intruders whom we call our enemy - should be taken. The advice of the United Nations should be heeded.
But when will Umno ever grow up? Will the BN government ever own up to botching the crisis? More and more, it looks like another chapter of Malaysian history will soon be fictionalized!
Malaysia Chronicle
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