4:38:00 AM
Sabah stand-off: Is it over? Super-power wants Banggi as base?
(Source)
KOTA KINABALU: Was the intrusion and siege of Tanduo in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu by the group of armed militants, planned and backed by a super power?
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman did not rule out the involvement of third parties in the intrusion of Sulu terrorist in Sabah, as reported by the media in the Philippines recently, but he stopped short of giving names.
According to a reliable source who asked not to be named for obvious reasons, the Sabah claim is part of a grand scheme to coerce the Malaysian government to allow them to set up their naval base on Pulau Banggi, off Kudat.
“I believe the Kirams are just the convenient tools of the superpower to secure Pulau Banggi to set up their naval base there, in replacement of its naval base in the region which was closed in 1992.
“They desperately need such a facility for geo-political reasons, especially with the growing influence of China in this natural resource-rich region and also to curb terrorism in the area,” said the source.
Our source claimed that one of Jamalul’s sons is a US citizen, but this could not be verified. The US maintains a huge presence in southern Philippines, in a bid to fight terrorism.
Crown prince Abgimuddin is the man who led the intrusion to Tanduo which came to full knowledge on Feb 12, while his brother Jamalul III, is unashamedly calling himself the Sultan and heir of the sultanate.
Abgimuddin is now in hiding somewhere in the Felda Sahabat area, while Jamalul has taken a hard-ball stand in his house in Taguig City, Manila.
Anifah said Wisma Putra will get detailed information on the matter from the Philippines to start an investigation here, to identify the culprits who abetted terrorists to create instability.
“I have asked my counterpart to provide further information on what was reported in the Philippines, that there was a possibility of third party involvement,” Borneo Insider quoted him as saying on Wednesday.
The same source also claimed that a big number of Filipino militia have slipped into Sabah and are currently awaiting the signal of Ismael Kiram II, the brother of 74-year-old Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, to react to the current situation.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source who is close to both Malaysian and Philippines intelligence claimed to have been reliably informed by a friend from Manila who is a senior Philippines government officer recently.
This is however contrary to reports received; on Wednesday morning the Philippines navy intercepted two boats near Andolingan Island around 6:30 a.m.
Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic, the Navy spokesman, said the patrol ship BRP Mariano Alvarez and the gunboat BRP Jose Andrada intercepted two watercraft, and detained 35 suspected followers of the Sultanate.
Firearms were also seized and one of the detained men was wounded.
A day earlier, Malaysian marine police intercepted two boats with more than 20 people in waters off Tanduo.
Said the source: “I believe this information is very reliable and not to be taken lightly by our government. I hope our government would do all it can to counter this”.
This information came just three days after a news report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer which quoted a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) official, that thousands of local residents from the islands of Basilan, Sulu, Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi have sailed to Sabah to reinforce members of the so-called royal army of the Sultanate of Sulu.
Habib Hashim Mudjahab, chair of the MNLF’s Islamic Council Committee, was reported to have told Inquirer the reinforcements “sailed in small numbers so they can easily penetrate Sabah waters unnoticed.”
Habib‘s statement came almost at the same time after MNLF chairman Nur Misuari warned Malaysia against killing the followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Lahad Datu, stressing that doing so would be tantamount to a declaration of war against his people and MNLF.
ABS-CBNews.com had also reported Misuari advised Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak against killing the sultan’s brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram who is leading some 200 men in a three- week standoff in Lahad Datu.
“Once you do that, it will be tantamount to declaration of war against our people and the Moro National Liberation Front. It is our sacred duty to protect our people,” Misuari said.
Our source also expressed concern over widespread negative reports by the Philippines media on the alleged ill treatment of Filipinos in Sabah by Malaysian authority, the police in particular.
“I was made to understand that the United Nations officials are now in Tawi Tawi to interview those Filipinos who fled Sabah.
“If the Philippines media continue to play up the issue of ill treatment of Filipinos by the Malaysian authority, it would only fuel the Suluks determination to come to Sabah to seek revenge and that would have a far-reaching impact of the state and its people,” he added.
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Balai Polis baru di Pulau Banggi
Kudat, 15 Mac - Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein hari ini memberi jaminan bahawa balai polis baharu di Pulau Banggi, bahagian pantai utara Sabah, akan dibina secepat mungkin.
Beliau berkata balai polis baharu itu penting bagi meningkatkan kawalan keselamatan ekoran insiden pencerobohan pengganas di Lahad Datu, bahagian pantai timur negeri ini."Kita mahu melihat ke hadapan dan saya sudah putuskan kita nak bina balai baharu di Pulau Banggi secepat mungkin," katanya kepada pemberita sempena lawatannya ke beberapa perkampungan air di sini.
Hishammuddin juga mahu agar gerakan Rela dan kesukarelawan diperhebat bagi menghadapi sebarang kemungkinan pada masa depan.
"Kita mahu ketua-ketua kampung dan pengerusi JKKK dilibatkan semua sebagai barisan pertama pertahanan.
"Perjumpaan (dengan penduduk Kudat) hari ini agak bersejarah, bukan sahaja wakil-wakil rakyat tahu, tetapi saya dapat melihat sendiri kekangan dan kelemahan yang perlu kita perbaiki. Bagi saya iktibar yang kita belajar daripada pengalaman ini akan membantu kita mencorakkan landskap bukan sahaja Kudat tetapi keselamatan Sabah untuk 50 tahun akan datang," katanya.
Beliau berkata pemergian para pejuang negara (yang terkorban) tidak sia-sia.
"Kita harus pastikan melakukan segala yang mungkin supaya pengorbanan mereka menyumbang kepada landskap masa depan Sabah," katanya.
Hishammuddin turut mengumumkan bahawa malam ini Ketua Setiausaha Negara sendiri mempengerusikan mesyuarat Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) yang memperinci pelaksanaan Kawasan Keselamatan Khas dari Kudat hingga ke Tawau.
Pada 7 Mac lepas, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak mengumumkan penubuhan Kawasan Keselamatan Khas Sabah itu ketika meninjau operasi pasukan keselamatan membanteras pengganas di Felda Sahabat 16, berdekatan dengan Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu.
"Semangat penduduk Kudat cukup tinggi, ikatan cukup membanggakan, dan walaupun tiada insiden, kita tetap berhati-hati.
"Bukan mudah untuk pantau pantai kita yang luas, tetapi kita kena lakukannya demi keselamatan semua pihak khususnya rakyat Sabah," katanya.
Hishammuddin juga meminta penduduk Kudat supaya tidak mendengar khabar angin kerana "secara menyeluruh masyarakat Sabah hidup dalam keadaan aman dan tenang tetapi jangan ambil mudah kerana kita tidak mahu (kes pencerobohan) berulang." - BERNAMA
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