ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 4, 2013) – Malaysia has sent more army troops to North Borneo where security forces are fighting about 200 followers of Sultanate of Sulu who are claiming ownership of the oil-rich island just several nautical miles off the Philippines.
The soldiers, who belong to the 21st Royal Malay Regiment under the 8th Brigade Camp, came from Kuala Lumpur, and that two more battalions are expected to follow to help local forces in North Borneo.
The operations are centered in the towns of Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna where some 200 sultanate members headed by Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram have ignored repeated demands by Malaysia to surrender peacefully and return to the southern Philippines.
Fighting between the two sides have killed several dozen people already since the standoff begun last month. Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram warned that Muslims in the Philippines would surely rise up if all of his followers end up dead in assaults by Malaysian forces.
The Sultanate of Sulu is claiming historical ownership to North Borneo or Sabah as what Malaysia now calls them. Brunei gave the island to the Sulu Sultanate for helping quell a rebellion many centuries ago, but Malaysia annexed North Borneo, although it is still paying so-called “cession money” to Sultan Fuad Kiram.
Sultan Jamalul’s daughter Celia Kiram has appealed to both Malaysia and the Philippines to stop the assault on their group, but both governments rejected the plea and told them to surrender without conditions. (Mindanao Examiner)
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