ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 9, 2013) – The Muslim autonomous region has set up a crisis center in Zamboanga City to monitor the situation in North Borneo where Malaysian security forces have already killed at least 53 members of the Sultanate of Sulu demanding recognition from Kuala Lumpur.
“Naka-monitor kami sa mga kaganapan sa Sabah at 24 hours ang operation nitong Crisis Management Committee on order na rin ni ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman. Gusto ni Gov. Hataman na matutukan ng husto ang problema doon sa Sabah upang masigurong ligtas ang ating mga kababayan doon,” said Amir Mawallil, head of the ARMM Communications Group and leader of a team manning the crisis center inside the military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters.
Malaysian forces are pursuing Sultanate members headed by Raja Muda Agbimuddin, who were sent to the oil-rich island by Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram in February to exert their historical and legal rights over North Borneo, home to more than 800,000 Filipino Muslims.
Brunei gave the island to the Sulu Sultanate for helping quell a rebellion many centuries ago, but Malaysia illegally annexed Borneo, although it is still paying so-called “cession money” to Sulu Sultan Fuad Kiram.
Hundreds of Filipinos have been either deported or escaped from Malaysian crackdown on illegal immigrants and workers in North Borneo since last month at the start of the standoff.
Malaysia said its forces had killed at least 53 followers of Sultan Jamalul in clashes in the towns of Lahad Datu and Semporna and put Raja Muda Agbimuddin in the wanted list for the deaths of 8 Malaysian police commandos slain in the hostilities.
The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur also tightened its security to protect the diplomatic mission following rallies by protesters in the Malaysian capital. “The Embassy has put in place added security measures for the safety of its personnel and their families, its property and Embassy clients and visitors,” Philippine Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
“We have a job to do, particularly to extend humanitarian assistance to those who have been displaced or otherwise adversely affected by the incident, and to ensure humane treatment to those who have been wounded and captured. The officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy are working doubly hard and are focused on these tasks,” he added.
Dozens of United Malays National Organisation-Youth members protested on March 7 in front of the Philippine Embassy and this was followed by another rally the next day by nongovernmental organizations Ikatan Rakyat Muslim Malaysia, Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim Malaysia and Malaysian Muslim Economy and Social Chamber. One group handed flowers to the Philippine Embassy staffs to show them that Malaysia is a peaceful country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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