Thousands of poor Muslims benefit from Sulu Sultanate relief mission

SULU (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 11, 2013) – Thousands of mostly poor Muslims in the southern Philippine province of Sulu benefited from a humanitarian mission launched by the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

Her majesty Princess Pulalun, whose father Sultan Sharif Ibrahim Ajibul Mohammad Pulalun, the heir to the Sultanate of Sulu, led the relief mission along with dozens of loyal followers in the capital town of Jolo. They distributed necessary supplies, especially rice, to the Muslims who flocked to Jolo to welcome the relief mission.

She spoke lengthily to the Muslims, appealing to them to stay in Sulu and not return to Sabah  following clashes between Malaysian security forces and the group of Sultan Jamalul Kiram that intruded Lahad Datu town in the oil-rich island on February.

Among those given provisions were Filipino-Muslims who escaped the violence in Sabah. The clashes, which killed more than 60 of Sultan Jamalul’s men, triggered an exodus of Filipinos after Malaysia mounted a crackdown on illegal migrants and workers in Sabah.

Those who received food supplies have praised Sultan Pulalun and his royal family for providing provisions that will last for days.

Last month, the secluded Sultan, surfaced in Zamboanga City and made an appeal to Kuala Lumpur not to harm innocent Filipinos residing or working in Sabah.

The Sultanate of Sulu is claiming historical ownership on Sabah or known by its old name as North Borneo, which was ceded to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in the 17th century for helping quell a rebellion. 

Some 800,000 Filipinos, mostly Muslims, are either residing or illegally working in Sabah. And thousands have been deported or escaped the strife in Sabah, just several hours by speedboat from the nearest Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi.

A known supporter of President Benigno Aquino, Sultan Pulalun, a descendant of Sultan Mohammad Pulalun, of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, also issued an official appeal calling to all Muslims in the Philippines to stay calm in view of the crisis in Sabah. (Mindanao Examiner. With a report from Ely D. Umaboc)