Which group planning another attack on Sabah, Tian Chua asks Putrajaya

PKR's Chua Tian Chang has urged Putrajaya to clarify which group is planning an attack on Sabah. – The Malaysian Insider filepic, December 1, 2015.

Claiming that the meeting between Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar with Sulu representative Jacel Kiram has been politicised, PKR's Chua Tian Chang has called on Putrajaya to clarify which group was reportedly planning another attempt to reclaim Sabah.

Chua said the group that Nurul Izzah had met in Manila, Philippines were not terrorists but part of the Filipino government.

"I just want to get an answer from the minister if the government has identified which group (will attack Sabah).

"If the group is the self-proclaimed Sultanate of Sulu, I expect there are diplomatic channels to deal with this, because they are part of the Filipino government, they are not terrorists," he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Chua was referring to a previous statement from Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed who had said that Sulu forces from southern Philippines were planning another attempt to reclaim Sabah.

Nurul Izzah has been summoned to Parliament’s rights and privileges committee after a photo of her and Jacel went viral on social media.

Jacel is the daughter of the self-styled Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III. Jamalul is said to be the mastermind behind the Lahad Datu intrusion two years ago.

Chua was seeking an answer from Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who was winding up to points raised during Budget 2016 debates at the committee stage.

"My question is quite specific, because the minister made a statement on November 28 saying there is a plan, a threat from a Sulu group on Lahad Datu," the Batu MP said.

"That is my question as the minister, in his answer, linked it to the meeting in Manila involving me and Lembah Pantai, that is what I mean by it being politicised."

Nur Jazlan was reported as saying that Sulu forces from southern Philippines were planning another attempt to reclaim Sabah.

This he said, was a "revenge attack" following the 2013 deadly incursion in Lahad Datu and that the ministry was working to neutralise "a local network of sympathisers" who assimilated into local communities, making it difficult for enforcement to detect them.

Chua said instead the Malaysian government was assisting with a group that the Philippines government has not recognised – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"This is why, if we want to accuse, we have to be specific. Otherwise it is not fair.

"There is another thing I would like to correct, you cannot say Sabahans hate the Sulus as they are part of our community here. We hate terrorists, we don't hate Sulus," he added.

To this, Nur Jazlan said that action would be taken conscientiously, using intelligence to take action but declined to reveal further.

- TMI