Manila now says up to Malaysia to handle Sulu militants

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — The Philippine government said today the fate of the self-proclaimed royal Sulu army in Sabah now lies in the hands of Malaysia’s security forces, appearing to suggest that a peaceful end to the prolonged standoff is no longer possible.

In an interview with the Philippines’ ABS-CBN News Channel this morning, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda pointed out that the over 200 gunmen claiming to be followers of the Sulu Sultanate have continued to hold their ground in Sabah, refusing to lay down arms even after violent skirmishes since Friday left 28 dead.

Jamalul claims Sabah belongs to the Sulu Sultanate. — Reuters pic

But according to the channel’s report on its website www.abs-cbnnews.com, Lacierda would not say if he agreed that the “window of opportunity” for a peaceful resolution to the standoff had closed because the deaths had involved Malaysian security personnel.

“Malaysia has stepped in. They have fatalities on their side. They want to resolve this on their terms. Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak said before the whole incident happened, baka pwede pa pero (it may have been possible but) now, serious offence has been committed,” he told Mornings@ANC, according to the report.

Adding to the tangled web, Lacierda confirmed the Philippine government’s suspicion that the Kiram family are working with outside “collaborators”, but was unsure who they are.

He pointed out that during early negotiations between government representatives and Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, whose brother, Agbimuddin Kiram, is leading the rebel group in Sabah, Jamalul kept “changing goal posts”.

“First of all, they wanted the government to press the Sabah claim. What did the President say? We will study the claim. I have formed a task group to study the claim,” he was quoted as saying.

At one point, Lacierda said, an agreement that would call an end to the standoff was nearly reached but a phone call changed everything.

The Philippine government is now attempting to find out if collaborators are indeed involved in guiding the Kiram family on its claims, the spokesman added.

Lacierda also repeated that the Philippine government had appealed several times to the Kiram family, urging the Sultanate to order its men home in order to discuss its proprietary claims over Sabah.

But Jamalul, who is one of nine claimants to the royal Sulu lineage, had refused the order, even directing Agbimuddin to stay put in Sabah.

In several Twitter postings this morning, the news channel quoted Lacierda as saying that the government has also consulted Muslim leaders and sent Muslim emissaries to speak to the Kiram family on the issue.

“Lacierda: We are seriously studying the Kirams’ claim,” it tweeted, using the handle @ANCALERTS.

But Lacierda also insisted that the Malacañang Palace, the official residence of Philippines President Benigno Aquino III, had not received Agbimuddin’s letter in 2010, where the Sulu crown prince had reportedly outlined his clan’s stand on the family’s ownership of the east Malaysian state.

“To our knowledge, the letter (allegedly from the Kirams) never reached the president,” Lacierda said, according to the Philippines TV network.

But Lacierda also agreed that from records of the Constitutional Commission on the issue, the claim to Sabah was never renounced.

“It’s there,” he reportedly said.

Despite this, the presidential spokesman said the Philippines government was now working to ensure the lives of the 800,000 Filipinos now residing in Sabah would not be affected by the ongoing armed conflict in the state.