Followers mistakenly held, says Sulu sultanate claimant

VIDEO 2.47 min

One claimant to the throne of the Sulu sultanate claims that 11 of his men were arrested near Lahad Datu, but says the arrests are a case of mistaken identity.

The claimant, Ampun Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram (right), said the 11 were arrested because they were thought to be the followers of another claimant to the throne, Jamalul Kiram, who is behind the ongoing Lahad Datu standoff.

“I appeal to the Malaysian government, please release my people,” Muedzul-Lail said when interviewed byKiniTV journalist Sumisha Naidu yesterday.

Muedzul-Lail’s chancellor Andres Linholm also toldKiniTV that Malaysian police have been going village-to-village looking for supporters of the Sulu sultanate.

However, when asked about this allegation, Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib confirmed the arrests, but said they were not related to the stand-off. 

Instead, Hamza said, the 11 detainees do not have proper documentation.

He also denied that the police were on a village-to-village search for the Sulu sultanate supporters.