Sabah standoff almost ended, but…

About 600 Sultanate members, many of them armed with automatic weapons, are still holed up on a village in the town of Lahad Datu claiming Sabah belongs to them.

The group is headed by Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, a brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, demanded recognition from Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpur flatly rejected the demand.

Government sources said Azzimudie has reportedly agreed to return to Sulu to peacefully end the standoff after a series of negotiations late last week, but suddenly changed his mind and demanded that some of his family members be allowed to fly to Sabah and join them in the negotiations.

Sultan Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram I and Sultan Esmail Kiram are also involved in the negotiations with the Philippine government.

A Philippine Air Force C-130 transport plane was supposed to fly to Sabah to fetch the Azzimudie’s group, but this plan was cancelled following the new demand.

Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin has directed Western Mindanao military chief General Rey Ardo to coordinate government plan in bringing back Azzimudie’s group, according to various sources privy to the negotiations.

Malaysia is also working closely with the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs to resolve the standoff without bloodshed.

Azzimudie’s group was sent to Sabah by Sultan Jamalul Kiram, but Malaysia wanted to deal directly with Esmail. Both Esmail and Fuad are receiving so-called cession money from Kuala Lumpur worth over P70,000 annually.

But there are dozens of other sultans claiming to be the real heir to the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. 

In Zamboanga City,Sultan Raja Mohammad Ghamar Mamay Hasan Abdurajak, who claims to be the heir to the throne, said Sabah rightfully belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo and that those who were rounded up by Malaysian security forces are natives of the Sultanate and should be accorded their rights to the oil-rich Malaysian state near the Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi.

His wife, who calls herself, Queen Maria Makiling Helen Fatima Nasaria Panolino Abdurajak, also made an appeal to President Benigno Aquino to ensure the safety of those being held in Sabah.

She said thousands of Muslims in Sabah are supporting the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo on its claims of Sabah, which was a gift by Brunei to the Sultanate of Sulu for helping crush a rebellion. But Sabah was leased by a British company to Malaysia which is also paying the Sultanate of Sulu some 6,300 ringgits.

Another heir, Sultan Sharif Ibrahim Ajibul Mohammad Pulalun, on Sunday also appealed to Malaysia and the Philippines to resolve the Sabah peacefully. “Sabah is ours and we should peacefully resolve this issue to avoid bloodshed,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)