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**Skywatcher** · 18 Feb 13,, 17:46

Wonder if Aquino is going to try to bring up the on and off Filipino claim to Sabah (though given what's been going on in the SCS, that might not be very advisable).

**troung** · 01 Mar 13,, 23:38

Shame two cops and a villager had to die to end this foolishness

Sabah assault: 15 dead
By Jaime Laude and Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 2, 2013 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - A standoff between Malaysian security forces and followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III ended in violence yesterday, with two Malaysian police officers and a Sabah villager and up to 12 of Kiram’s men killed as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declared his patience had run out.

Najib, quoted by state news agency Bernama, confirmed the Malaysian police deaths and said that 10 to 12 Filipinos had been killed after their group tried to break through a security cordon around a village in Lahad Datu where they had been holed up since Feb. 9.

Malaca�ang confirmed the deaths and called the turn of events “saddening.”

“We regret the loss of lives,” Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang told reporters last night after a meeting with President Aquino and other officials.

“We condole with the families of those who were lost,” Carandang said, adding that the standoff could not be considered over because Malaysian forces and followers of Kiram were still in the area.

“There now exists a small window of opportunity to arrive at a peaceful conclusion to the situation in Lahad Datu; we are exerting every effort to seize that opportunity, and are hopeful that the Kiram family and their followers will seize it with us, so that further bloodshed may be avoided,” Carandang said.
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

“Since the onset, our primary goal had been to resolve the situation without violence. That is why President Aquino urged the followers of the Kiram family to lay down their arms and return home, so that their grievances can be addressed through sober, productive dialogue,” Carandang said.

Carandang said they could not confirm reports that a crackdown on Filipinos in Sabah had begun because of the incident.

The group that battled with Malaysian forces was led by the sultan’s brother Agbimuddin, also called Raja Muda or crown prince.

More than 200 followers of the Sultanate of Sulu landed in Sabah last month, declaring the territory as their homeland.

Both the Philippine and Malaysian governments had repeatedly urged them to return home.

Reports said most of the Filipino gunmen had fled the fighting.

Najib said he had now given Malaysian security forces a mandate to take “any action” against the group.

“Do not test our patience, our patience has reached the limit,” he was quoted as saying earlier.

“We have a plan to remove them, they should have surrendered and left,” said Najib, who must call national elections by April and has come under pressure from the opposition for allowing the bizarre standoff to drag on.

Three Malaysian police officers were wounded in the shootout, police said.

The Philippines only confirmed one death among the group, saying that 10 had surrendered while the rest had fled towards the sea.

The sultanate’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani told reporters in Manila that the men had moved to another location to continue their fight and urged Malaysia to hold talks.

The confrontation had threatened to reignite tension between the Philippines and Malaysia. Ties have been periodically frayed by security and migration problems along their sea border.

The group is demanding recognition from Malaysia and renegotiation of the original terms of a lease on Sabah by the sultanate to a British trading company in the 19th century.

Bernama said two Malaysian policemen were killed in a mortar attack launched by the Filipinos.

Idjirani said 10 of the sultanate’s soldiers and a 28-year-old mother were killed in the attack started by Malaysian security forces.

News reports from Kota Kinabalu, quoting Lahad Datu residents, said scores of wounded Malaysian security forces had been seen being transported out of Tanduo village near Lahad Datu on military trucks.

The firefight began at 10 a.m. yesterday. By noon, Malaysian snipers were reportedly seen picking targets in the coastal town, according to Agbimuddin in a radio interview.

He said the Malaysian forces were only about 300 meters from his men.

“They came upon us so we had to defend ourselves,” Agbimuddin said.

He said they had the names of two fatalities in the sultan’s side but declined to reveal them at the moment.

“We appeal to you not to name them first so their relatives in Sulu will not react violently,” he said.

He also appealed for prayers from both the Muslim and Christian communities in the Philippines as he bared plans by the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo and the Kiram family to raise the incident before the Red Crescent and the Red Cross.

He also denied reports that Malaysian commandos had arrested Agbimuddin.

“We would like to deny the report in regard to the status of Raja Muda Kiram. We just talked to him, he is well, he’s not wounded, he is still leading the struggle. He is not among those killed or captured as reported by the Malaysian embassy. That (report) that the Raja Mudah is already captured and now in the hands of the Malaysian police commandos is false,” he said.

Idjirani said Agbimuuddin – referred to as Azzimudie by the Malaysian press – called him up early yesterday to report that Malaysian forces were already “penetrating the ground.” It was at around 10:30 a.m. when Malaysian commandos opened fire at Kiram’s men, killing 10 of them and injuring scores of others.

“We got this information directly from Raja Muda. So who are we going to believe? The people announcing from Malaca�ang or the Raja Muda himself?”

Idjirani said the sultanate had been made to believe that the problem would be finally resolved peacefully.

Standoff over

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Malaysian Ambassador Mohammad Zamri bin Mohammad Kassim met yesterday afternoon with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to inform the latter of the assault.

“Secretary Del Rosario had a meeting with the Malaysian Ambassador at 2 this afternoon where Ambassador Kassim informed the secretary that the Malaysian authorities had conducted assault at Lahad Datu at 10 (yesterday) morning,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a press briefing. “The ambassador said that the standoff is now over.”

The ambassador also informed Del Rosario that two police officers and a civilian were killed in the firefight. The DFA could not immediately confirm the casualties.

“We do not have any confirmation of those who have been wounded and who might have been killed during the operation based on our validation. We do not have the details of the operation yet,” Hernandez said.

According to Hernandez, Del Rosario handed a note verbale to the ambassador requesting clearance from the Malaysian government for the Philippine Navy ship BRP Tagbanua to proceed to Lahad Datu to bring Philippine medical personnel and provisions for the remaining supporters of Kiram.

“For those wounded as well as the others who might be arrested, we would like to have full access to them so that we can offer and extend consular assistance to the group,” he added.

The ship was dispatched Sunday night to ferry back civilians and supporters of Kiram.

The ship sailed from Bongao, Tawi-Tawi to the village of Tanduo in Lahad Datu.

The government appealed to the members of the Sultanate of Sulu’s “royal army” to leave Sabah for their own safety and vowed to address the core issues the “royal army” had raised.

The Philippines requested Malaysia to extend for several days the deadline for the supporters of Kiram to leave Sabah. There was no Malaysian response to the request.

Attack ‘uncalled for’

The sultan’s daughter Princess Jacel Kiram lashed out at Malaysia for launching the attack even as negotiations to end the standoff peacefully were ongoing.

“The unprovoked assault on the Lahad Datu encampment was uncalled for. We suffered now 14 casualties – 10 dead and four wounded. Blood has flowed,” she said.

“For the past two days, formal and informal talks have been initiated towards a peaceful settlement and disarmament has been discussed,” she said. “Up to now, sniping continues. Do we want more bloodshed or do we want this bloodshed to stop? We pose this question to the Malaysian government.”

She added that her uncle Agbimuddin “decided to go to Lahad Datu with 234 men with the firm belief to settle there peacefully and to defend their right to live in their homeland.”

“We appeal to the Malaysian government to please clarify: Are we engaging in a dialogue or is this an act of unilateral violence against the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo? We appeal for sobriety. The Sultan has ordered his brother to restrain but to be always ready to defend themselves,” she added.

She said violence could have been averted had the Philippine government stuck to its commitment to pursue dialogue and ensure a peaceful end to the standoff.

For her part, the sultan’s wife Fatima Cecilia Kiram accused Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II of speaking for Malaysia.

“I don’t know if he is the spokesperson or is he speaking in behalf of Malaysia. Where is his patriotism as Filipino? Filipinos had been hurt, but why defend the enemy?” she said.

“It is sad to say that you are saying that the military of Malaysia is so patient. Instead of defending our people who are willing to sacrifice for the historical truth, to tell the world that we have been belittled, to tell the world that our people in Sabah are being deported inhumanely and yet he is speaking for Malaysia – that Malaysia is so patient, so patient, according to his statement,” Fatima said.

“He is defending Malaysia instead of his co-Filipinos. He is an anti-Muslim,” she added.

“The Filipinos in Sabah are feeling the same thing. If we can only swim to Sabah we will go there to defend it, even if we have to die in the process,” she said.

For the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Malaysia’s use of force would result in the escalation of hostilities in Sabah or possibly civil war.

“I am afraid there will be a civil war in Sabah because thousands of Bangsamoro are residing in Sabah,” Haji Gapul Hajirul, MNLF political chief, said.

“It’s only MNLF chairman Nur (Misuari) who could decide on the matter. Whatever his decision, we will follow,” Hajirul said. “Our Tausug brothers and sisters of Sulu and the Samals in Tawi-Tawi were saddened and are hurting by the turn of the events.”

More than 8,500 Filipinos, mostly Tausugs, are residing in Sabah and are potential supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu. Malaysia is paying the Sultanate of Sulu 5,300 ringgit annually as lease.

Meanwhile, the Makati City Police yesterday beefed up its presence around the Malaysian embassy on Tordesillas St. in Salcedo Village. With Mike Frialde, Roel Pare�o
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/20...ssault-15-dead

**Bigfella** · 02 Mar 13,, 00:15

Got into an argument wiht a Fillipino online about this. Basically said the territory belonged to the Phillipines bacause Malaysia pays a tiuny amount annually to the sultan & that the people living in Sabah were 'suqtters' who had no rights. Talk about twilight zone stuff. Scratch a chest beating nationalist and there is an ethnic cleanser not far beneath the surface.

**troung** · 02 Mar 13,, 02:52

I visit the Philippines a lot - wonderful people - but this has exposed a lot of people as being Chicom crazy. I remember a man a few years ago railing about how bad of people Muslims are, then changing the topic to how adding the Sabah would make the nation whole.
Long dead monarchy, the locals want nothing to do with the "sultan" and don't wish to be ruled by Manila, Sabah is internationally recognized as being part of Malaysia, and Malaysia would stomp the AFP. Just about settles it.
Though newspapers in the Philippines are beating the drums loudly - ignoring all facts which get in the way.

aturday, 02 March 2013 06:20
LAHAD DATU: Woman's eye twitch over 3 days portends tragedy
Written by -

LAHAD DATU: Woman's eye twitch over 3 days portends tragedy

BESUT- The mother of one of two police commandos killed in a stand-off with armed foreign intruders at Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu, Sabah today, had an incessant eye twitch over the past three days.

The twitch, coupled with a deep sense of unease, must have left Khatijah Ismail, 64, wondering if it was a sign of a tragedy about to happen.

Today, the mother of six received devastating news that her third son, Inspector Zulkifli Mamat, 30, from the Commando 69 Unit, was killed by a mortar attack while manning a post in Kampung Tanduo about 10am.

The other was identified as Corporal Sabarudin Daud.

Khatijah, when met by Bernama at her house in Kampung Kubang Ikan near Gong Bayor here, said she received the tragic news while involved in a programme organised by the Besut Wanita Umno in her village at 4pm.

She said she contacted Zulkifli's widow, Noraziah Nor, 29, a teacher in Ipoh but only heard her weeping over the telephone.

"Noraziah, who is pregnant with the couple's third child, then said my son was killed in Lahad Datu. I was shocked and fainted," she said.

Kota Putra State Assemblyman Muhammad Pehimi Yusoff and Terengganu police deputy chief Datuk Hamzah Mohd Jamil called on Khatijah at her home this evening, to convey their greviences.

Khatijah said her son joined the police force because he was keen to have a career in the uniform services since schooldays.

She described Zulkifli, who graduated from Universiti Malaya, as a good son who was close with his siblings.

According to Khatijah, before leaving for Lahad Datu last Friday, Zulkifli had telephoned her and asked her to pray for his safety.

Zulkifli served at the General Operations Force, North Brigade in Ulu Kinta, Perak since he joined the force, seven years ago.

- Bernama

http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/in...agedy&Itemid=2

**Bigfella** · 02 Mar 13,, 03:07

Originally posted by troung View Post

I visit the Philippines a lot - wonderful people - but this has exposed a lot of people as being Chicom crazy. I remember a man a few years ago railing about how bad of people Muslims are, then changing the topic to how adding the Sabah would make the nation whole.
Long dead monarchy, the locals want nothing to do with the "sultan" and don't wish to be ruled by Manila, Sabah is internationally recognized as being part of Malaysia, and Malaysia would stomp the AFP. Just about settles it.
Though newspapers in the Philippines are beating the drums loudly - ignoring all facts which get in the way.

The funny thing is that there are multiple claimants to the title of 'Sultan of Sulu'. This guy is just one of them. he is using the occasion of the agreement with the MILF to grandstand about this. On more than one occasion his people have let it slip that they are after more money, though when called on it they quickly claim it is all about 'honour'. The Philippines threw away any remote chance it had to contest Sabah when it ratified the manilla agreement in the mid-60s. While it still allows them to pursue their claims, agreeing to leave Sabah in Malaysian hands and doing nothng about the claims for 40 years amounts to 'we got nuthin'. If this ever gets to the UN it will be laughed out of court. If they decide to get all Bolshie about it Malaysia just has to start arming & training the Moros. Philippines couldn't even defeat them, let alone a grown up military.

**troung** · 02 Mar 13,, 04:09

One "sultan" has a website which discusses how pillaging the Sabah will make Sulu a better place - I'm sure that warms the locals up to all of them. A bunch of pretenders who want to finally have subjects to rule.

Philippines couldn't even defeat them, let alone a grown up military.

According the knockoff Chicoms forty years of ambushes have prepared them well to be attacked with tanks and fighter bombers. A combined army AFP/MILF/MNLF/BIFF will sweep the squatters away.

The Philippines threw away any remote chance it had to contest Sabah when it ratified the manilla agreement in the mid-60s. While it still allows them to pursue their claims, agreeing to leave Sabah in Malaysian hands and doing nothng about the claims for 40 years amounts to 'we got nuthin'.

They could have joined with Indonesia and tried to fight it out - the world saw how that went.

=========
Our new claim over another's territory standard.

Compare Pakistan and Kashmir to the Philippines and Sabah - Pakistan owns a chunk, there is constant pressure to keep the issue hot for decades, manages/directs an armed insurgency which locals take part in, actively sets up terrorist training camps, rails loudly and claiming to speak on behalf of the "oppressed" locals, and has fought four wars and numerous clashes and their are nuclear weapons. Kashmir is a live dispute, and even then despite it all India has not been made to hand over Kashmir. The Philippines in turn has a dozen pretenders to a dead title, has thought better of the matter and long since dropped it, sure as hell is not looking to start slugging it out with a military which would batter them, nor can they pretend to claim to speak on behalf of a people who would start shooting if forced to become subjects of Manila.

This doesn't even reach 2013 Falklands standard.
========
LOL...

Even if there was a valid referendum held among Sabah occupants, it still wouldn't have mattered. If you owned a piece of land that's been occupied by squatters for years, will it really matter to you if a referendum among them said that 100% of them wanted to continue staying on your land against your will? Of course not. That is not their choice to make. They don't even have the right to make that choice.

Turned Malaysia into the defender of Democratic values and protection of minority rights :insane:

===========
From a "sultan"
http://www.royalsulu.com/issues.html

The continued occupation of Sabah by Malaysia is illegal and it must end. Malaysia pays the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu very small annual rent of PhP77,442.36 or US$1,500 for Sabah a real estate property with land area of 73,711 square kilometers. This very small yearly rent is unjust and unfair and it is unacceptable and indefensible how Malaysia can stay in Sabah by paying so little amount of rent per year.

Sabah contributes US$30 billion GDP to the Malaysian economy annually and looking at fair commercial rental property transactions the Lessor can expect to receive rental payment of at least 10% to 12% or US$3 billion to US$3.6 billion per year from the Tenant. But the Lessor only received a measly US$1,500 per year so the Malaysian payment needs to be discussed and re-negotiated to the satisfaction of everybody concerned.

Due to the unfair and unjust treatment of Malaysia of the Sabah owners regarded as Un-Islamic and Haram and the lack of economic developments in the Sultanate of Sulu and also in Sabah many pro independence groups advocate independence of Sulu and Sabah. Malaysia is a Muslim nation that grabs Sabah the land owned by Muslims from the Sultanate of Sulu. Malaysia's land-grabbing of Sabah is betrayal of Islam - - and of the norms of civilized society !

Income to be derived from Sabah rent or Joint Administration will be used to develop Sulu to uplift the welfare of the Sulu people such as roads, hospitals, medicines, education, peace and order, etc. The correct rent payment by Malaysia to the Sultanate of Sulu and/or the Joint Administration of Sabah will be the solution to the Sabah issue. In any Joint Administration the Sultanate of Sulu will insist that 50% of the earnings will be for Sabah people social and economic developments and 25% each for Malaysia and the Sultanate of Sulu.

If the rental payment or Joint Administration is not acceptable then Malaysia must vacate Sabah and return Sabah to the lawful owners – the people of the Sultanate of Sulu. These are three (3) options available to resolve the Sabah illegal occupation by Malaysia.

The meaning of "Cession Money", in International Law, is the payment of a sovereign government to another sovereign government for the cession of a certain landed territory.

Since Malaysia, a sovereign government, pays the nine (9) heirs of the Sultan of Sulu & Sabah who are private individuals (and not sovereign government), therefore, the annual money paid by Malaysia through its Embassy in Manila is not cession money but "Rental Money" to Sabah/ North Borneo which Malaysia illegally occupied since 1963 to this day.

Thus, in view of the above, we state that the illegal occupation of Sabah by Malaysia must stop and that Sabah must be returned to the lawful owners -- the people of the Sultanate of Sulu.

**Bigfella** · 02 Mar 13,, 04:47

Originally posted by troung View Post

The "sultan" has a website which discusses how pillaging the Sabah will make Sulu a better place - I'm sure that warms the locals up to him. A bunch of pretenders who want to finally have subjects to rule.

There are few things in this world more pathetic than washed up royals with delusions of grandeur. Sadly this one now has blood on his hands.

According the knockoff Chicoms forty years of ambushes have prepared them well to be attacked with tanks and fighter bombers. A combined army AFP/MILF/MNLF/BIFF will sweep the squatters away.

The funny thing is that in this scenario only the first acronym in your list there will be fighting for the Catholic Philippines against Muslim Malaysia. The 'squatters' won't need to worry...or lift a finger. They will probably do a little 'ethnic cleansing' of their own, however, on the hundreds of thousands of illegal filipino migrants living in the province.

They could have joined with Indonesia and tried to fight it out - the world saw how that went.

Not that stupid then, not that stupid now.

=========
Our new claim over another's territory standard.

Compare Pakistan and Kashmir to the Philippines and Sabah - Pakistan owns a chunk, there is constant pressure to keep the issue hot for decades, an armed insurgency which locals take part in, actively setting up terrorist training camps, railing loudly and claiming to speak on behalf of the "oppressed" locals, and fighting four wars and numerous clashes. Kashmir is a live dispute, and even then despite it all India has not been made to hand over Kashmir. The Philippines in turn has a dozen pretenders to a dead title, has thought better of the matter and long since dropped it, sure as hell is not looking to start slugging it out, nor can they pretend to claim to speak on behalf of a people who would start shooting if forced to become subjects of Manila.

========
LOL...

Just one of many territorial claims with a better chance of getting up than this one. Not holding my breath.

Turned Malaysia into the defender of Democratic values and protection of minority rights :insane:

One of the many bizarre aspects of this whole sad affair.

**troung** · 02 Mar 13,, 16:01

Malaysia needs to wheel up the G-5s.

Negotiating window with Filipino rebels closed: Malaysian PM
Last Updated: Saturday, March 02, 2013, 20:13 A- A A+
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Tags: Malaysia, Filipino rebels, Philippines
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia on Saturday said supporters of a Muslim royal clan from Philippines who occupied a village in the country's eastern Sabah state had used a white flag as a ruse to open fire on Malaysian police, killing two security personnel.

At least 14 people were killed yesterday when a armed group led by a brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of the southern Philippine province of Sulu clashed with the Malaysian security forces as tension mounted in the nearly 20-day standoff.

Prime Minister Najib Razak described it as a cowardly act and said the window for negotiations was closed given the hostile stand taken by the rebels.

"The two slain commandos had seen the white flag and did not think that there would be other intruders waiting to open fire on them. I do not rule out the possibility that it was a trap by the intruders. If they had resorted to such a tactic, it was a act of coward," he told reporters.

The Malaysian government has given the Sulu invaders two choices: surrender or face the repercussions at the hands of security forces, Razak said.

"The Sulu rebels have to surrender or they will face the action of our security forces," he told a press conference.

"I've told (Philippine President Benigno) Aquino that the Government will not consider any claims by the Sulu gunmen... they only have two options- surrender or face actions by our security forces," he said.

In Manila, Aquino in a message to the rebel group said that they should "surrender now without conditions."

The Sulu royal Sultan Jamalul Kiram, however, said that Aquino's order to his men in Sabah to "surrender now with no conditions" was "not acceptable".

"All they know how to say is surrender, surrender. Why should we surrender in our own home? They (his followers now in Sabah) are not doing anything bad in their own home," Kiram said.

A group of about 200 followers of the Sultanate of Sulu had entered the coastal village of Lahad Datu in Sabah on Borneo island on February 9 to claim the territory as their own, citing ownership documents from the late 1800s.

The group is asking Malaysia to renegotiate the original terms of a lease on Sabah by the Sultanate to a British trading company in the 19th century.

Both the Philippines and Malaysian authorities told the group to leave the area but the clan refused.

PTI
- See more at: Negotiating window with Filipino rebels closed: Malaysian PM

(UPDATE) Aquino urges Sulu militants in Sabah to surrender
(philstar.com) | Updated March 2, 2013 - 8:00pm
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MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - President Banigno S. Aquino III urged today the followers of the Sultan of Sulu who are still holed up in Lahad Datu in Malaysian state Sabah to surrender without conditions to prevent further loss of lives.

Aquino made this appeal in a statement released after he had met some of his Cabinet members and security officials in Malacanang, the presidential palace, for the second time since the Sabah clash erupted Friday morning.

"If you have grievances, the path you chose was wrong. The just, and indeed, the only correct thing for you to do is to surrender," Aquino said.

"To those who have influence and the capacity to reason with those in Lahad Datu, I ask you to convey this message: surrender now, without conditions," he added.

Twelve followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III were killed in the clash with the Malaysian forces, two of whom also died.

The Kiram's men went to Sabah three weeks ago to assert their claim over the minerals- and oil-rich Malaysian state.
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Aquino said that from the very start, his administration's objective has been to avoid loss of lives and the shedding of blood. "However, you did not join us in this objective. Because of the path you have taken, what we have been trying to avoid has come to pass," Aquino said.

Malaysia warned that if the remaining Kiram's followers would not surrender, they would have to face the undesirable consequences.
- See more at: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/20....ghroPVjL.dpuf

LOL....

Sulu sultanate to seek US help, cites 1915 agreement
By: Bernard Testa, InterAksyon.com
March 2, 2013 1:00 PM
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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines -- The Sulu sultanate will seek the help of the United States to back up its claim to Sabah by invoking a 1915 agreement that, among others, assures the sultanate of American protection.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman of the sultanate, said Friday that their council would write the US embassy in Manila and invoke the so-called Carpenter agreement signed on March 22, 1915 between Sultan Hadji Jamalul Kiram and Frank W. Carpenter, governor of the then Department of Mindanao and Sulu.

“We are seeking the intervention of the United States of America as stated in the Kiram-Carpenter argument of 1915” in which the Americans “assured the sultan of Sulu of (its) full protection should a problem arise in Sabah between the sultan of Sulu and other foreign countries,” Idjirani said.

“That’s the US historical and moral obligation to us,” he told InterAksyon.

Idjirani also said they plan to press their claim before the International Court of Justice.

At the same time, he stressed that Sultan Jamalul Kiram III is not demanding an increase in the token annual rental paid by Malaysia but the recognition of their claim to Sabah.

The Kiram family, he said, "don't want an increase on rental, it is not about money."

"Ayaw ng sultan na sila lang ang makinabang sa upa, gusto ng royal house of Kiram na lahat ng Pilipino ay mag-profit sa natural wealth ng North Borneo o Sabah (The sultan doesn’t want his family alone to benefit from the rent, the royal house of Kiram wants all Filipinos to profit from the natural wealth of North Borneo or Sabah)," he said.
Sulu sultanate to seek US help, cites 1915 agreement - InterAksyon.com

**troung** · 02 Mar 13,, 19:03

Their political victory in a non-dispute no-one cared about ended the moment two Malaysians died in defense of Malaysian territory.

No surrender, we stay
Sultan unmoved despite Aquino, Malaysian PM’s warning
By Michael Lim Ubac, Dona Z. Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:25 am | Sunday, March 3rd, 2013
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SOBERING NEWS Princess Jacel Kiram updates her father, Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, on the bloodshed on Friday between Malaysian police and Kiram’s followers, who had refused to leave Sabah after their incursion on Feb. 9 to press their claim over what they call their homeland. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE FILE PHOTO

As Malaysia threatened to take “drastic action” against intruding followers of the sultan of Sulu on Saturday, President Benigno Aquino III sent a message to the group cornered in Sabah: “surrender now, without conditions.”

Twelve of the 235 men led by Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, were killed in a clash with Malaysian police in the seaside village of Tanduao in Lahad Datu town, Sabah, on Friday morning.

Jamalul was unmoved. He appeared briefly with movie actor Robin Padilla, a Muslim convert, before dozens of journalists at his home in Taguig City.

“The only thing they know is surrender. Why should we surrender in our own home? They did nothing wrong in their own home,” Jamalul said in Filipino, referring to the President’s statement and to his brother in Tanduao.

Agbimuddin texted the sultan early Saturday saying he and his remaining followers were prepared to die.

“After we buried our nine brothers and a sister at sundown, everyone of the 224 left decided to die in Lahad Datu in pursuit of their dreams and aspiration,” Agbimuddin said, referring to the burial on Friday evening of his slain followers.

The message seemed to be correcting the Sabah police report that 12 of Agbimuddin’s followers were killed in the clash with Malaysian policemen.

In the hands of Allah

There were also reports that among the dead on the side of Agbimuddin were the elderly owner of the house that the Sulu group seized after entering the village on Feb. 9.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesperson for the Sulu sultanate, told journalists that the Kirams had decided to put the fate of Agbimuddin and his remaining followers in the hands of Allah.

He said Agbimuddin’s group went to Sabah to compel a peaceful resolution of the sultanate’s claim to Sabah.

“This is our long-held aspiration, that Malaysia understand that Sabah is owned by the sultanate of Sulu,” Idjirani said.

“The sultan is not after an increase in rental because that will benefit only the Kiram family,” Idjirani said. “[T]heir father said Sabah is not for sale. It’s for the patrimony of the Filipino people.”

The remnants of Agbimuddin’s group were cornered in a smaller area after the 30-minute gun battle that also cost the lives of two Malaysian policemen and injured three others, according to news reports from Malaysia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday told reporters that after talking to President Aquino on Friday night, he decided to give Agbimuddin’s group two choices: surrender or face the repercussions at the hands of Malaysian security forces.

Najib said the window for negotiations was closed, given the hostile stand taken by the group from Sulu.

“The Sulu [intruders] have to surrender or they will face the action of our security forces,” Najib said after paying his last respects to the two policemen killed by mortar fire during the clash with Agbimuddin’s group.

Malaysian Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar said Agbimuddin’s group must immediately lay down their arms and surrender or face “drastic action.”

“We have no other options but to take the necessary action to detain them,” Omar said.

Agbimuddin’s group was now “trapped” and faced no alternative but surrender, he said.

Presidential message

Malaca�ang did not say what understanding President Aquino and Najib reached, but said the President wanted Agbimuddin and his men to surrender to avoid further bloodshed.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda read Mr. Aquino’s statement addressed to Agbimuddin’s group at a hastily called news conference.

“To our citizens in Lahad Datu, from the very start our objective has been to avoid the loss of lives and the shedding of blood. However, you did not join us in this objective. Because of the path you have taken, what we have been trying to avoid has come to pass,” the President said.

“If you have grievances, the path you chose was wrong. The just, and indeed, the only correct thing for you to do is to surrender,” he said.

“To those who have influence and the capacity to reason with those in Lahad Datu, I ask you to convey this message: surrender now, without conditions,” he said.

Lacierda did not directly answer a question about the Philippine government pushing away blame if more lives were lost, but said: “The Philippine government has exerted all efforts for a peaceful resolution. We’ve done that from Day 1. We’ve said that we’ve sent emissaries. We have tried our best to deal with them. We have coordinated with Malaysian authorities. What should not have happened did happen yesterday. The best thing for them to do is surrender.”

Jamalul’s daughter, Princess Jacel Kiram, said the President’s call to surrender was “not acceptable.”

Jacel denied Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras’ statement that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima directly contacted the sultanate on Friday night.

She said it was someone claiming to represent De Lima who contacted the sultanate, demanding a “categorical statement” from the sultan ordering his followers to come home without conditions.

Jacel said government emissaries had contacted the family before and tried to impose terms on them and demanding that their followers withdraw from Sabah.

She said what her family wanted was for the government to intercede for them and arrange negotiations with the Malaysian government involving their proprietary claim to Sabah.

“We want negotiations, not dictation,” she said.

Rejecting Almendras’ claim that the government had done everything for a peaceful solution to the crisis, she said the standoff in Tanduao would continue until the sultanate and the Philippine and Malaysian governments agreed to sit down to talk about the Sabah claim.

Followers captured

Idjirani said Agbimuddin reported the capture of 10 members of his group by Malaysian police during the raid on Friday.

Idjirani said Agbimuddin admitted that he and his followers were caught off-guard.

“That will disprove [claims] that we fired the first shot, because we were caught by surprise,” Idjirani said, referring to the report by Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Mohammad Zamri Mohammad Kassim on Friday that the Sulu group fired at Malaysian police, triggering a response that led to a gun battle.

Idjirani said the sultanate assumed that the captives, all men, were being maltreated in Malaysian police custody. The sultanate, he said, appealed to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to intercede for the captives.

Of the remaining 224 followers remaining in Agbimuddin’s group, seven are women, Idjirani said.

Earlier reports said the group was armed with M16 and M14 rifles, M16 carbines, M203 grenade launchers and .45 cal. 1911 pistols, but Idjirani said most in the group carried bladed weapons like kris and barong.

Lockdown

All was reportedly quiet in Lahad Datu on Friday, as police ordered a lockdown.

Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said the authorities had the situation under control.

Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya said a Philippine humanitarian mission had arrived in Lahad Datu, although there were reports that the Malaysian authorities stopped the mission in Kota Kinabalu.

Communications Secretary Ramon Carandang said the government was talking to the Malaysian about maximum tolerance.

“We are still trying to find a way to prevent further bloodshed,” Carandang said. With reports from Nikko Dizon in Manila; Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao; and The Star/Asia News Network

Originally posted: 4:46 pm | Saturday, March 2nd, 2013
- See more at: No surrender, we stay | Inquirer Global Nation

News comment section is epic...

Are you a Malayu peninsular or a Sabahan Malayu peninsular lapdog?

50 years being ignored by the 2 countries what the Sultan needed which is increase of their rent ($1700 per year is an insult for one island). Now is the time to fight back and tell the world that they deserve to take what they own and increase their rent. Give them what is due to them then their will be peace.

I CAN TELL,
YOU DO NOT OWN ANY PROPERTIES UNDER YOUR NAME THATS WHY U DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO BE A LANDLORD
AM A LANDLORD I KNOW HOW SULTAN KIRAM FEELS

The Karim is just asking for the land that they own. What's wrong with that. The mere fact that the Malaysian government pays them rental is the proof that indeed, Sabah belongs to them. We should not ridicule the Karims.. What we should do is criticize PNoy for acting like the mouthpiece of Malaysian government. The more he gives overture to the Malaysian government that he is in their side, the more the Malaysians will be embolden to commit bloodbath against our Muslim brothers. Unfortunately, the Musims are my brothers because my skin is brown, he he he. Unfortunately, PNoy is not our brothers, neither are Karim. His blood is YELLOW, that's why he talks that way. He does not care how may dead bodies will be counted, he has no sympathy to the Filipino brown race. He is committing treason against the Filipino people. And he turned his back to his Oath of office to protect our Constitution and our sovereignty. It would be advisable for PNoy to go back to his fatherland, China. We do not need these Chinese in our government. Better if they leave and put the governance back to the Filipino brown race. d

BTW, the dead Filipinos were shot by Malaysian SNIPERS. That’s what the foreign papers report.
That’s not a fair fight… that’s also a cowards shoot.

No surrender unless justice and truth is done. 50 years of Malaysian theivery is enough BS ! Return Sabah for the Sulu People of Southern Philippines. That is the core of their being as a free people.

**troung** · 03 Mar 13,, 02:22

A shame - hopefully Malaysia acts and breaks the back of the foolishness.

Another policeman killed in shootout with intruders in Semporna - Nation | The Star Online
Published: Sunday March 3, 2013 MYT 1:28:00 AM
Updated: Sunday March 3, 2013 MYT 1:35:16 AM
Another policeman killed in shootout with intruders in Semporna

KUALA LUMPUR: Another member of the Malaysian security forces has been killed, this time in a firefight with armed intruders in Kampung Selamat, Semporna, about 150km from Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, Sabah.

According to a police source, another policeman was also injured in the firefight which began at 8pm Saturday.

Lahad Datu and Tawau Police Special Investigation Divisions have been deployed to the scene.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, when contacted, confirmed the incident but refused to comment further.

On Friday, two VAT 69 police commandos were killed, while three others were injured in a shootout with the armed intruders in Kampung Tandou.

Twelve of the armed intruders were also killed. - Bernama

unday March 3, 2013
A foreign problem that became Sabah’s
Behind The Headlines by BUNN NAGARA
http://thestar.com.my/columnists/sto...he%20Headlines
After Sabah’s standoff is resolved, the intruders will need to reconcile with modern realities.

IT is too easy to dismiss the Lahad Datu standoff as typical of Sabah’s labyrinthine intrigue.

That would trivialise the rich history and cultural diversity of the state, besides mistaking a largely Philippine problem as being Sabah’s.

True, anywhere else in Malaysia with a significant Tausug population deriving from the former Sulu Sultanate’s diaspora, like the Klang Valley, would be unlikely to experience the drama of the past couple of weeks.

But none of the events in Kampung Tanduo, near Lahad Datu in eastern Sabah, was predictable or inevitable. The former Sultanate occupied only a small portion of Philippine territory and an even smaller portion of Sabah’s.

And yet, the peculiar combination of north-eastern Borneo’s demography, geography, history and political heritage provides a probable backdrop to just such a standoff. How did it all begin this time?

On Feb 9, nearly 100 Philippine nationals, several of them armed, arrived by boat to join a smaller group that had arrived earlier. They took over the village, claiming the area belonged to the Sultanate that they said they represented.

They also demanded recognition as the Royal Sulu Sultanate Army, as well as a meeting with an unnamed Malaysian leader. Malaysian authorities rejected both demands.

They further said they had come in support of Sabah’s Tausug population, alleging reports that following a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Sabah’s illegal immigrant communities, Tausugs would be deported.

Many locals would be surprised by the claim. Sabahan-Malaysian Tausugs, who prefer to be called Suluks, have long settled comfortably among Sabah’s three dozen or so ethnic groups.

Filipino Tausugs who arrived later as migrant workers, clinging more closely to their “Tausug” roots, may face a different reality. But ethnic persecution hardly if ever surfaces in Sabah because of, not despite, its rich cultural diversity.

The annual lease payment of RM5,300 agreed in 1903, increased from RM5,000 agreed in 1878, was also said to be insufficient. Others said the territory should be returned to the late Sultan’s descendants anyway.

Although British and Sulu versions of the 1878 agreement differed slightly, the Sulu version was clear enough: “… hereby lease of our own free will and satisfaction … all the territories and lands … forever and until the end of time, all rights and powers which we possess over all territories and lands tributary to us …”

Both the Philippines and Malaysia would rather do without such disturbances that serve only as irritants to bilateral relations. As modern nation states, both countries have evolved well past an extinct sultanate.

But there are also differences.

For Malaysia, the sovereignty and territorial claims of the former Sultan’s descendants are simply unacceptable. No such claims are negotiable.

The claimants argue that the sultanate’s territory had been leased only to Britain, with no agreement on incorporation into Malaysia. But their case is inconsistent.

Sabah, the former North Borneo, became a British protectorate from the late 19th century until it became a crown colony. It gained a brief period of independence before becoming part of the Malaysian Federation in 1963.

By then, the Cobbold Commission had determined that a majority of people in Sabah and Sarawak favoured the formation of Malaysia. For a century the former Sultan’s descendants did not retake territory, but instead agreed to continue accepting the lease payment under the previous arrangements.

The Philippine government, which subsumed the sultanate’s authority in the four provinces of Mindanao, also took over the role of pressing the claim to Sabah. Despite being a republic that had abandoned all royal authority, Manila continued with the claim before, during and after Malaysia’s formation.

Although the Philippine claim has since become dormant if not extinct, Manila found it difficult to renounce it. It has become an object of nationalists eager to strike populist postures in domestic Philippine politics.

The issue has a different spin among the Moro or Philippine Muslim community in Mindanao, of which Tausugs are a part. Despite Malaysia’s key role in peace talks between the two main Moro separatist groups and the Philippine government, both groups are not necessarily in Malaysia’s corner.

The MILF (Moro Islamist Liberation Front) disagreed with the takeover of Kampung Tanduo, saying negotiations should have been the way. This wrongly presumed that the issue was negotiable for Malaysia.

The MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) is an even more enthusiastic supporter of the armed intruders. But it should be more mindful of the implications involved.

Since the former sultanate covered the Philippine provinces of Basilan, Palawan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao), and only an eastern part of Sabah, followers of the former Sultan should first settle differences of territorial authority with the MNLF and the MILF before venturing into Sabah. They should also settle differences with Manila over such issues as hegemony, usurpation and compensation.

Both the Philippines and Malaysia, as sovereign states that had subsumed and developed beyond the Sulu Sultanate, have successfully concluded various agreements bilaterally and multilaterally. Those agreements confirm mutual acceptance of their respective statehood in their present configuration.

Besides, the former Sultan and his descendants had consented to the terms of the agreement in return for the lease payment. So long as payment is still made, they are obliged to continue abiding by the agreement.

That would make any unilateral attempt to retake territory by force of arms illegal and unjustified. Whether Malaysia will seek to prosecute after a resolution of the standoff is another matter.

**troung** · 03 Mar 13,, 19:41

One wonders who is the knucklehead telling them not to snuff these guys out. Kill them, string up their corpses on the beach.

Sabah clashes on 3 fronts, manhunt on for 10 aliens, 3 armed

UPDATED @ 06:17:37 PM 03-03-2013

March 03, 2013
Main - Malaysia - Sabah clashes on 3 fronts, manhunt on for 10 aliens, 3 armed @ Sun Mar 03 2013

Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the police are working with the military to hunt down 10 suspects, three who are armed, after they escaped from a police siege in Kampung Tanduo, near Lahad Datu where a Filipino Muslim clan claiming ownership of Sabah had dug in since entering the state on February 9.

"To date, the police have succeeded in capturing three intruders who tried to escape from police siege in Kampung Tanduo," he told a news conference in Lahad Datu.

The IGP said the police and the armed forces have the situation under control and are working together to end the conflict.

A statement of the IGP's briefing was made available to The Malaysian Insider.

The manhunt, codenamed Ops Sulu, is being carried out in Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna.

Ismail said the security forces had been tipped off that a group of intruders had landed in the coastal area between Kampung Lormalang and Kampung Dasar Lama in Kunak, after the Lahad Datu incident.

He said police commandos have been sent in to conduct a ground assessment and to act against the Kunak group, which he said were hiding in a house there.

He said the third clash happened yesterday at 6.30pm in Kampung Sri Jaya Simunul in Semporna, and which was the deadliest, as the gunmen ambushed and shot dead five policemen who were conducting a sweep of the village.

Two of the intruders werre gunned down in the shootout, Ismail said.

"Following this incident, the police have surrounded the area where the intruders are hiding," he said.

He also said the police would not be making public the details of the policemen who were killed out of respect for the victims' families.

He advised the residents living nearby not to panic and not to listen to rumours, urging them to contact the nearets police station or check the Sabah police website for further information.
Army chief General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, who was also at the news conference in Lahad Datu, was reported saying the intruders had displayed combat experience and guerrilla knowledge.

"From our intelligence and observation, they have combat experience and their insurgency guerrilla tactics are quite good, I would say," the military general was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini.

Zulkifeli was reported saying the intruders had placed snipers in a large public space in one of the districts. He did not name the location.

"They know we are not able to go in without casualties because of the open area," he said.

The police would not be making public the details of the policemen who were killed out of respect for the victims' families, Ismail said.

Seven Malaysians have died, to date, including two police commandos were killed in action against a Filipino militant in Kampung Tanduo, near Lahad Datu on Friday.

A Malaysian, reported to be the home owner where the Filipinos were hiding, also died in the Lahad Datu shootout.

Five other policemen died in an attack in Kampung Seri Jaya Siminul in Semporna last night.

The IGP has advised residents living near the three districts not to panic and not to listen to rumours, urging them to contact the nearest police station or check the Sabah police website for further information.

A Filipino Muslim clan claiming royal lineage from the Sulu sultanate had intruded into Sabah on February 9 staking ownership over parts of the Borneo state.

The armed group, estimated to number between 100 and 200 people, have maintained they will not surrender their claim to the land, despite entreaties from the Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.

Putrajaya, which had earlier attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the gunmen, have warned they will not hesitate to resort to arms against the group to get them to leave Sabah.

Squatters attacking their landlords/liberators.

Filipino in ambush of Malaysian cops beaten to death, says Sabah radio report
By Allan Nawal
Philippine Daily Inquirer
7:58 pm | Sunday, March 3rd, 2013
6 194 12

DIGOS CITY, Philippines–A middle-aged Filipino man, who was reportedly involved in the ambush of Malaysian police forces, in which five policemen including an officer was killed, was beaten to death by angry residents of a village in Semporna early Sunday, radio reports from Sabah monitored here said.

The radio stations, broadcasting on shortwave bands, said Semporna police chief Mohammad Firdaus Francis Abdullah had not commented on the incident that took place in Senalang Lama village around 7 a.m.

In a similar report, the Malaysian state media Bernama said its reporter in Semporna had seen the bloodied cadaver of the man, who had an M-16 rifle when beaten to death.

Bernama said the man remained unidentified but was thought to be in his 50s. Its reporter described the man as “big-sized and dressed in black.”

The radio reports quoted villagers as saying the man, suspected to be a follower of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, descended from a nearby hill on Sunday and fired his gun into the air.

The villagers were reported to have said they overheard the man shouting that he was among those who ambushed the five policemen, who were sent to Semporna early Saturday to conduct ground assessment following reports that armed men were spotted there hours before.

The radio reports said the man even threatened villagers with harm unless they gathered in an open area.

“As the man was trying to light a cigarette, the angry villagers mobbed him,” the reports said.

They then hanged his body on a tree, the unidentified Bernama reporter, who happened to pass by the village on his way to a coverage in another village, some 30 kilometers from Senalang Lama, said.

As this developed, Malaysian police’s Inspector General Ismail Omar went on air to say he had no information on the reported capture of four Malaysian officials by the “Sulu intruders.”

Abraham Idjirani, a spokesperson for Jamalul Kiram III, was earlier quoted in reports by Manila-based media outfits that their followers in Siminul had taken four hostages, a police officer, two military officials and one government official.

Idjirani was also quoted as saying two more men and two children were killed in the same incident that claimed the lives of five policemen in Siminul late Saturday.

But Ismail said as of 6 p.m. Sunday, he had not received any verified report on the alleged hostage-taking incident and other claims by Idjirani.

“No such information (Tiada apa-apa maklumat),” he said in Bahasa.

In Kunak town, nearly 5,000 people had fled in the aftermath of the ambush-cum-clash in Siminul.

In contrast, life has returned to normal in Felda Sahabat 17 in Lahad Datu, the radio reports in Bahasa said, as Malaysian security forces pushed farther away the “Sulu intruders (“penceroboh”).

In another report, Bernama said shops had reopened on Saturday and people were flocking into them.

Ismail said the renewed confidence of Lahad Datu residents came after they were assured the situation was under control.

He confirmed the deployment of Malaysian soldiers to beef up the police’s capability.

Ismail repeated his appeal to Sabahans not to believe in unverified reports, saying only the police and the military were authorized to issue updates on the efforts to address the “intrusion.”

Bernama also quoted Malaysian Army commander Gen. Zulkifli Zainal Abidin as saying he and Ismail had been “mapping out operations.”

“We can handle this situation by enforcing tight security,” Zulkifli reportedly said when asked about Idjirani’s claim that “thousands of the Sultan’s followers” from Jolo, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi were heading to Sabah to help their embattled comrades.

Zulkifli had earlier said that members of the Sulu sultan’s “royal army” have shown combat experience “and their insurgency guerilla tactics are quite good, I would say.”

The Moro National Liberation Front had confirmed that some of its members had joined Agbimuddin Kiram for the Sabah “homecoming.”

The MNLF, had signed a peace pact with the Philippine government in 1996, after decades of rebellion, which saw many of its guerrillas become battle-tested men.

Zulkifli said the group had snipers and this fact was observed as early as Friday, during the taking of Felda Sahabat 17 by Malaysian security forces.

Although 12 of the “Sulu invaders” had been killed, two members of the elite Malaysian commando, VAT69, also died in the ambush-cum-clash.

“They made sure we will not be able to go in without casualties,” he said.
- See more at: Filipino in ambush of Malaysian cops beaten to death, says Sabah radio report | Inquirer Global Nation

**troung** · 05 Mar 13,, 03:27

Best of luck to the Malaysians

Malaysia attacks Filipinos to end Borneo siege
By SEAN YOONG | Associated Press – 12 mins ago

Malaysia attacks Filipinos to end Borneo siege - Yahoo! News
Malaysian police officers carry …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian security forces using fighter jets attacked nearly 200 Filipino intruders on Tuesday to end the armed group's three-week violent occupation of a Borneo village that became the country's biggest security crisis in years.

Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed the assault was launched Tuesday morning after clashes in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state this past week killed eight policemen. He had earlier declared that security forces were authorized to take any action deemed necessary.

The main group of intruders comprises members of a Philippine Muslim clan, some bearing rifles and grenade launchers, who slipped past naval patrols last month, landed at a remote Malaysian coastal village in Sabah's Lahad Datu district and insisted the territory was theirs.

Nineteen Filipino gunmen have also been slain in Lahad Datu and another Sabah coastal district involving a smaller group of Filipinos since Friday. The skirmishes shocked Malaysians unaccustomed to such violence in their country, which borders insurgency-plagued southern provinces in the Philippines and Thailand.

"The government has to take the appropriate action to protect national pride and sovereignty as our people have demanded," Najib said in a statement issued through the national news agency, Bernama.

Authorities made every effort to resolve the siege peacefully since the presence of the group in Lahad Datu district became known on Feb. 12, including holding talks to encourage the intruders to leave without facing any serious legal repercussions, Najib said.

"The longer this intrusion persisted, it became clear to the authorities that the intruders had no intention to leave Sabah," Najib said. "As a peace-loving Islamic country that upholds efforts to settle conflicts through negotiations, our struggle to avoid bloodshed in Lahad Datu did not work."

Sabah police chief Hamza Taib confirmed the attack involved ground and air operations conducted by both the police and military, which included bombing the area. He declined to elaborate, saying the operation remained ongoing two hours after it was launched shortly after dawn.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the Sulu sultanate, told reporters in Manila that the Filipino group in Sabah would not surrender and that their leader was safe. The group is led by a brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Lahad Datu district is a short boat ride from the Philippine province, and the clan members had rebuffed calls to leave, claiming Sabah belonged to their royal sultanate and that Malaysia has been paying a paltry amount to lease the vast territory with many palm plantations.

The Philippine government had asked Malaysia to exercise maximum tolerance to avoid further bloodshed.

In Manila, presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said Tuesday that Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario was in Kuala Lumpur meeting with his Malaysian counterpart.

"We've done everything we could to prevent this, but in the end Kiram's people chose this path," Carandang said.

An undetermined number of other armed Filipinos are suspected to have encroached on other districts within 300 kilometers (200 miles) of Lahad Datu.

Some activists say the crisis illustrates an urgent need to review border security and immigration policies for Sabah, where hundreds of thousands of Filipinos have headed in recent decades — many of them illegally — to seek work and stability.

Groups of Filipino militants have occasionally crossed into Sabah to carry out kidnappings, including one that involved island resort vacationers in 2000. Malaysia has repeatedly intensified its patrols, but the long sea border with the Philippines remains difficult to guard.

Some in Muslim-majority Malaysia advocated patience in handling the Lahad Datu intruders. But the deaths of the Malaysian police officers, including six who were ambushed while inspecting a waterfront village in a separate Sabah district on Saturday, have triggered widespread alarm over the possibility of more such intrusions.

For the second time in two days, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III had gone on national TV to urge the Filipino group in Lahad Datu to lay down their arms, warning that the situation could worsen and endanger about 800,000 Filipinos settlers there.

The crisis could have wide-ranging political ramifications in both countries. Some fear it might undermine peace talks brokered by Malaysia between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines.

It also could affect public confidence in Malaysia's long-ruling National Front coalition, which is gearing up for general elections that must be held by the end of June. The coalition requires strong support from voters in Sabah to fend off an opposition alliance that hopes to end more than five decades of federal rule by the National Front.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has advised Americans to avoid traveling to much of Sabah's east coast, which includes towns that are embarkation points for nearby diving resort islands, because of the potential for more violence.

___

Associated Press writers Hrvoje Hranjski and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Malaysian forces continue attack vs Kiram's army
(philstar.com) | Updated March 5, 2013 - 9:10am
37 52 googleplus1 0
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/20...vs-kirams-army

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh fighting erupted in Lahad Datu, Sabah as Malaysian security forces start to advance into the position of the royal army of the Sultanate of Sulu, an online news site reported Tuesday morning.

The Star online (The Star Online | Malaysia, Business, Sports, Lifestyle and Video News), reported that the attacks meant to flush out the more than 200 royal army members holed up in Lahad Datu started at dawn.

"Continuous explosions are being heard as the [Malaysian] police and army move in against the gunmen who are reportedly firing back," the online news website reported.

Ibrahim Idjirani, spokesperson of the sultanate, said that the royal army's leader Agbimuddin Kiram called them up at 7 a.m. to report the Malaysian forces' bombardment.

“According to Datu Raja Muda, the two bombs dropped by Malaysian air force plane hit their own ground troops as if they were fighting each other,” said Idrijani.

Aside from the deployment of helicopters and fighter jets, the Malaysian army has mobilized dozens of tanks to support the advancing troops toward the position of the royal army.
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

At least five battalions of the Malaysian army have been deployed in Sabah to force Agbimuddin's group out of Lahad Datu.

Fighting between the two forces broke out last Friday morning after Malaysian forces started moving closer to the area where the sultanate’s army was holed up.

Before its forces advanced, the Malaysian government told the sultanate’s army that it has only until midnight of Tuesday last week to leave Lahad Datu peacefully.

Idjirani had said that 12 of the royal army members were killed during last Friday's gunfight while Malaysian authorities said two of its men and a civilian were also among the fatalities.

The sultanate also claimed on Sunday that Malaysian forces killed an Imam and his four sons, triggering attacks by Filipino residents of Lahad Datu on army and police forces.

The Malaysian military on Monday sent additional troops to areas affected by the conflict.

The Star online reported that the situation in Tanjung Labian, which is seven kilometers from Tanduo village was tense as the Malaysian air force bombarded the position of the royal army.

The sultanate’s army led by Agbimuddin, brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, arrived in Lahad Datu last February 11 to insist the clan’s claim over Sabah.

In an interview over ABS-CBN's dzMM radio, the royal army's leader expressed his disappointment over President Benigno Aquino III's position on the crisis.

He said that the governments of Malaysia and the Philippines have obviously stopped listening to their calls for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

"Hindi sila nakikinig... Pinahuhuli nila ang mga tauhan namin maski walang kasalanan," Agbimuddin said. "Parang hindi kami Filipino kay Aquino." - reports from Jaime Laude and Dennis Carcamo

**troung** · 05 Mar 13,, 03:32

.....

Filipino
By Conrado de Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:09 pm | Monday, March 4th, 2013
Filipino | Inquirer Opinion
Before the bloodbath happened last Friday, Jamalul Kiram was lambasting government for its indifference, if not hostility, to his cause. Indeed for perfidiously siding with Malaysia over them, fellow Filipinos.

“Is Mar Roxas now the spokesperson for Malaysia?” he demanded to know. “He claims that Malaysia will not talk to us. Is it hard for the Philippines and Malaysia to sit down and talk to us and settle this amicably?”

He felt insulted, he said, by Leila de Lima’s suggestion that he could be swayed. “I, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, pledge to our holy Quara’n that this aspiration to fight for what is rightfully ours, legally and historically, is a unilateral act of the Sultanate of Sulu…. Please do not insult the sacrifice of the Sultanate of Sulu by saying we can be swayed.”

As to P-Noy himself calling his group’s incursion into Sabah foolhardy, he fumed: “Why are you calling it foolhardy? Is it foolhardy to defend the patrimony of your nation? Is it foolhardy to fight for what is right? Is it foolhardy to sacrifice the lives of 235 people for the sake of the truth?”

Well, arguably Roxas is wrong to imagine he is God’s gift to this world rather than punishment to mankind, but the delusions in this case are more of Kiram’s than anybody else’s.

Is it the hardest thing in the world for the Philippines and Malaysia to sit down and talk to them and settle their claim to Sabah amicably? But of course it is. It is not just the hardest thing in the world, it is the most impossible thing in the world.

You land in Sabah with 235 armed men—enough to engage the Malaysian security forces in a firefight, sending two of them into the afterlife—and you hope with that belligerent act to be able to sit down with anyone and talk things over? You materialize from out of nowhere like pirates to (en)force a claim that has gotten you nowhere since the postwar postcolonial world through a succession of Philippine presidents, and you hope with that belligerent act to be able to settle things amicably?

Why on earth shouldn’t the Department of Justice want to look into those groups that have given the Kirams financial and moral support? People who are in dire need of financial and moral support—which the Kirams are—are vulnerable to being swayed whether they like it or not, whether they believe it or not. Of course they may never be swayed from their belief that Sabah is theirs, they may never be swayed from their dreams of reclaiming Sabah one day, but they can always be swayed in other things. They can be swayed into actually making a bid for it—people who have no money can only dream forever. They can be swayed into carrying it out now rather than later, right when government is in the middle of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is being opposed by the Moro National Liberation Front.

And why on earth shouldn’t P-Noy call the Kiram group’s incursion into Sabah foolhardy and threaten to throw the book at those responsible for it? It is foolhardy. It is infinitely more foolhardy or futile or suicidal than the Oakwood mutiny.

Kiram’s justification for his act is that it was done in desperation, he had been sending his lamentations to Malaca�ang and it had been deaf to his entreaties. Well, if everyone is justified in embarking on violent acts like this—never mind provoking an international crisis, never mind stoking war with another country—because their pet projects do not get the attention they imagine they deserve, we might as well stop pretending to be a country. Hell, we might as well stop pretending to be sane.

Which brings us to what’s incredibly cheeky about these accusations. That is their premise that the incursion into Sabah advances this country’s interests, and therefore any attempt by government or the citizens to criticize it, or not support it, or bid it stop is anti-Filipino and/or pro-Malaysian. Can anything be battier?

At the very least, why should the Kiram group naturally represent the Philippines? They are not making their claim on Sabah on behalf of the Philippine government, they are making it on behalf of the Sultanate of Sulu. They are making it on the basis of colonial arrangements they made with Britain and the United States, which makes them a political entity in themselves. It compels not just the Malaysian government but the Philippine government to recognize them as so.

And if they ever get to get Sabah, what then? Will they have the right to tax its people, or more in keeping with the atavistic resonances of “sultanate,” levy tribute on their subjects? More to the point, if they ever get to get Sabah, will they have the right to negotiate with other countries, such as by allowing the United States to build bases in some part of it?

No, there is nothing there that naturally advances the Filipino interest.

At the very most, there is everything there that goes against the Filipino interest. What they have done has just imperiled the peace talks with the MILF, the single biggest boon to Filipino Christians and Muslims alike—in a long time, promising as it does to end a centuries-old fratricidal war. What they have done has just imperiled the chances of the Philippine government and the MILF to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for the history-making thing they have done. What they have done has just imperiled the 325,000 or so Filipinos in Sabah who now fear a backlash from the Malaysian government. What they have done has just imperiled the Philippine position on the Spratlys, giving the Chinese no small amount of ammunition to charge us with territorial delusions and ambitions. What they have done has just imperiled the country’s renewed standing in the world after the dark night of the first decade of the new millennium.

Being pissed off with that is anti-Filipino?

**troung** · 06 Mar 13,, 00:14

To think had those goofs left two weeks ago they could have spun it as a political win.

Aquino tells plotters: You will not succeed
Kirams, accomplices will be held accountable
By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:07 am | Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Aquino tells plotters: You will not succeed | Inquirer Global Nation

CONSPIRACY President Aquino issues warning to people who plotted the expedition of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s men to Sabah. MALACA�ANG PHOTO BUREAU

As violence spread in Sabah, President Aquino on Monday warned the conspirators in the intrusion of the followers of the sultan of Sulu into the eastern Malaysian state: “You will not succeed.”

In a televised address with officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the President spoke of the alleged involvement of officials of the Arroyo administration in the conspiracy, but he indicated that evidence was still being gathered on the role of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Aquino said cases were “being built up” against the players.

But the family of Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III said the government should show proof that there was a sinister intent behind their followers’ crossing into Sabah to stake their claim to the territory.

“All these are just allegations. Prove it. We challenge them to prove it,” Princess Jacel Kiram, daughter of the sultan, said at a news conference.

“They should prove their claim that we have conspirators. If we have conspirators, they are the people,” she said.

She reported fresh fighting in Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town in Sabah where a group of sultanate followers led by her uncle Agbimuddin Kiram is cornered by Malaysian security forces.

Agbimuddin texted the sultan at about 4:20 p.m. Monday, reporting fighting between his group and Malaysian police, she said.

While warning the conspirators, President Aquino expressed concern about the safety of Agbimuddin and his armed followers, as well as the 800,000 Filipinos living and working in Sabah.

“We’re aware of the conspiracy that has led to this situation, a situation that has no immediate solution. We see some of them, while the others are lurking in the dark. The clan of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III can’t do this kind of move by themselves. It’s very noticeable that that there’s only one line coming from the critics, adding fire to a serious situation. They’ve worsened this issue, and they’re at it while hundreds of thousands of Filipinos face danger,” Aquino said.

They will pay

“To those people behind this, I’m telling you now: You will not succeed. Those who have committed a crime against the country will be called to account,” he said.

Former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, former Tarlac Rep. Jose Cojuangco and his wife, Margarita, and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari had been implicated as financiers of the Kirams’ “excursion” to Sabah, but they have strongly denied the allegations.

Responding to reporters’ questions later, the President indicated that the Kirams and the conspirators would face charges.

“Let’s start with this: Does the Constitution sanction any armed force beside the Armed Forces of the Philippines? Is there not a provision against armed groups? They are obviously by definition an armed group. They call themselves a particular name, and there is allegedly some connivance by certain members of the previous administration in the formation of this, which is in violation of the Constitution and various other laws of the land,” he said, spelling out the possible charges against the Kirams and the conspirators.

He said the Revised Penal Code also penalizes inciting to war. “When an armed group goes into an area administered by a different nation, can that not be considered an act of war by some of our citizens?” he said.

He added that the penal code also prescribes penalty for people who “incite others to war.”

“The (Department of Justice) is preparing the charges,” he said.

Is Arroyo involved?

Asked if the conspiracy led up to Arroyo, the President replied: “You’re asking for a conclusion that I wish I had right now. But again unless we have the evidence that can be brought before a court that will prove the case, I will not make an accusation.”

Aquino confirmed that there were intelligence reports as well as “persons of interest” pointing to the identity of the conspirators, but said the intelligence reports “do not provide evidence necessary for the courts.”

“Cases are being built up. Let’s emphasize this: Jamalul Kiram is sick, he needs dialysis and he is being assisted by the (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office). So even in terms of attending to his own health, he needs assistance. I’m told that renting a boat, a sufficiently large boat, to go to Sabah, costs about P100,000. There were two boats and one speedboat used by this group—so funds and food [were given to them],” he said.

When asked about Gonzales’ denial of reports naming him as instigator, Aquino said: “You know I won’t accuse anyone without any piece of evidence.”

Other Filipinos

As public concern grew over the fate of the armed Filipinos and their countrymen in Sabah following the spread of violence to other parts of the state over the weekend, Aquino said he was concerned about the safety of all Filipinos in Sabah.

“As President, the life not only of the group of Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram but also the welfare and safety of the estimated 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah rest on my shoulders. Every life is important, and we have no other objective but to ensure the safety of our countrymen, whichever part of the world they are,” he said.

“Let’s be frank with one another: If the situation is reversed, and our own community is raided by any armed group, can we just sit still and keep quiet? Aren’t we going to ask help from the government, too?” he added.

“What’s sad is that a few people chose to make this happen, and put many Filipinos in danger. Nonetheless, we won’t lose strength to end this conflict at the soonest possible time,” the President said.

“It’s simple: This would end if the personalities involved become reasonable, especially those who think of themselves as true leaders,” he said.

Aquino reiterated his call to the Kirams: “It’s not reasonable to ask for understanding if your gun is pointed to the head of the other party. We can only start reasonable talk once you’re ready to become sober and sit down at the table with an open mind.”

Talk with Najib

Aquino confirmed that he had a phone conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

“He told us that the situation has crossed the line. As to what happened [last Friday], negotiations were no longer possible because of the loss of life, especially on the part of the Malaysians. He said his countrymen were very angry,” he said.

Since the line had been crossed after weeks of appeal for the Kirams to stand down became futile, Najib authorized the security forces to end the standoff, Aquino said.

“On my part, I requested that our countrymen who are estimated to be 800,000 should not be affected, and we were given assurance that they will try to ensure this,” he said.

Aquino, however, said he did not give clearance to the Malaysians to go after Agbimuddin and his followers.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario flew to Kuala Lumpur Monday afternoon to discuss with Malaysian officials options to prevent further bloodshed in Sabah.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Del Rosario would meet with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and “continue discussions on how to prevent further loss of lives and to appeal to the Malaysian authorities to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with the remaining members of Agbimuddin’s group.

Aquino said that the trip of Foreign Secretary Del Rosario to Kuala Lumpur was aimed at “exploring possible other avenues.”

UN intervention

But the wife of the sultan, Princess Fatima Kiram, said only the intervention of the United Nations or another country could end the conflict in Sabah.

“This is honor above life. (Malaca�ang officials) are saying life is more important. But for us Tausug, honor is more important than life,” Fatima said.—With reports from Nikko Dizon and Tarra Quismund

DFA chief clarifies: We didn’t tag sultan followers terrorists
By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:55 am | Wednesday, March 6th, 2013
DFA chief clarifies: We didn

Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III: His followers are not terrorists, says Philippines foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario clarified that he did not label as terrorists armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III who are standing their ground in Sabah contrary to a Malaysian report Tuesday night.

In a statement, the DFA said Del Rosario, in meeting with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman in Kuala Lumpur, only concurred to call as “terroristic acts” reports that Malaysian police forces were mutilated in Semporna, where fighting between Kiram’s men and Malaysian forces earlier erupted.

Malaysian news outfits had quoted Aman as saying that Del Rosario agreed to call the Filipino fighters “terrorists” when the two met in before dawn Tuesday, just hours before Malaysia launched air and ground strikes to flush out Kiram’s followers bent at staying in the disputed territory.

Del Rosario returned to Manila late Tuesday afternoon from his brief visit to Kuala Lumpur, where he hoped “to walk that last mile to try to save lives in this unfortunate conflict.”

Quoting the account of Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Malaya who was present at meeting, the DFA said: “…[T]he report is out of context and the Secretary did not label the Filipino group as terrorist.”

“In Semporna, there were alleged acts of terrorism. As reported by the Malaysian Foreign Minister, after the police forces were lured into an ambush and killed, their bodies were brutally mutilated and desecrated. If indeed these atrocities were committed as reported to him, the Secretary and the Foreign Minister both agreed that these were, at the very least, terroristic acts,” the DFA statement read.

In a statement sent early Wednesday, the DFA said the Philippines is still pursuing efforts to prevent further deaths in Lahad Datu, where Kiram’s followers have been standing their ground for three weeks now.

Kiram’s group is asserting ownership of the land even as the Philippine government refused to discuss the dispute while the Sultan’s followers remain in Sabah.

The DFA has repeatedly said government has “not abandoned” the country’s claim for Sabah and that a study group has been assembled to look into the Philippine claim.

“The Philippine Government will continue to explore all possible channels in an effort to achieve the objective of minimizing the loss of life and bringing the matter to an expeditious conclusion,” said the DFA.

The foreign office explained that the Philippines had wanted to peacefully settle the standoff peacefully but did not get the Kiram group’s cooperation.

President Aquino, who turned stern on the Kirams on the second week of the standoff, “initially offered that no charges would be filed” against them if they cooperated. The situation, however, changed when the Kirams refused to budge.

“From the outset of this conflict, the Philippine Government has been pursuing options which could lead to a peaceful resolution where no lives would be lost… These options, which involve the peaceful withdrawal of the Kiram group from Lahad Datu in order to ensure that lives are not compromised, were relentlessly pursued on a 24/7 basis,” the DFA said.

“Unfortunately, some of these plans did not merit acceptance by all parties and those that did could not be implemented in time. The Philippine Government’s constructive efforts were overtaken by events that were beyond its control,” the foreign office added.

Announcement

Malaysian forces arrest Filipino militants

Malaysian forces arrest Filipino militants

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