‘Invaders’ open to peaceful solution

Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram insists they would not leave Sabah until the issue has been resolved.

MANILA: The brother of Sultan of Sulu said his group in Lahad Datu town in Sabah was open to negotiate with the Malaysian government just to have a “peaceful” solution to the Sabah standoff.

“…so long as our rights will not be taken away from us,” Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram told Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Wednesday when asked if they were open to negotiations.

“We have to renegotiate in a peaceful way,” said Raja Muda, brother of Jamalul Kiram III.

Raja Muda said the standoff could be resolved peacefully “so long as there is no betrayal, so long as they are sincere with the negotiation.”

His statements came just a day after Sultan Jamalul rejected President Benigno Aquino III’s call to withdraw the armed group in the disputed land or “face the full force of the law.”

Raja Muda said they were ready to listen to the President and accept his views if they think these were right.

Unfortunately, the sultan’s brother did not agree with the President’s claim that they may have violated Philippine laws when they refused to leave the land.

“As President and chief executor of our laws, I have tasked an investigation into possible violations of laws by you, your followers, and collaborators engaged in this foolhardy act,” Aquino said Tuesday.

Raja Muda insisted that they would not leave Sabah until the issue has been resolved.

And if the Malaysian authorities were to use force to disarm his men, Raja Muda said they have no other choice but defend themselves.

Raja Muda said they came to Sabah not to make war especially with fellow Muslims in Malaysia.

“We come here…not to make war against them especially since we belong to the same religion,’ he said when asked what would be his message to the Malaysian government.

And to the residents of Sabah, Raja Muda’s message was: “We did not come here to die here but we come here to live with them, to stay with them to love each other and enjoy the income of Sabah together.”

He then called on their families in the Philippines and all Filipinos not only to extend them any help but also to show “sympathy” for them.

- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/02/27/sultan%e2%80%99s-brother-open-to-%e2%80%98peaceful%e2%80%99-solution/#sthash.IkkeoYlL.dpuf