ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 5, 2013) – The hostilities in neighboring North Borneo is now affecting trade and commerce in the southern Philippines and Filipino officials are worried about the plight of Muslims in the oil-rich island being claimed by both the Sultanate of Sulu and Malaysia.
Malaysian jets bombed the town of Lahad Datu where about 200 followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram, headed by his younger brother Raja Muda Agbimuddin, are fighting for their historical rights over North Borneo.
It was not immediately known if there were casualties in the latest assault by Malaysian security forces, but hostilities on the island left more than two dozen people dead on both sides since last month. Sultan Jamalul’s group landed in Lahad Datu from the southern Filipino provinces of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu and demanded recognition from the Malaysian government.
Sulu Governor Sakur Tan issued a fresh appeal to the group of Sultan Jamalul to lay their arms to end bloody confrontation with Malaysian forces. Tan said he is worried over the safety of Filipinos residing in North Borneo and the effect of the fighting to the local economy and their livelihood.
“Ang kaligtasan ng mga Pilipino, lalo na yun mga Tausug na mula sa Sulu at Tawi-Tawi, at Basilan ang aming concern ngayon. Gayun rin ang impact nitong gulo sa aming ekonomiya dahil siguradong pag pinalayas sila ng Malaysia sa Sabah ay walang mga trabaho yan sa kanilang pagbabalik at problema yan,” Tan said.
Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadikul Sahali also echoed Tan’s concern and said Malaysian authorities have already tightened the flow of trade between his province and North Borneo where most of their commodities come from.
“Yan nga ang problema namin ngayon dahil karamihan ng aming mga (stocks) na ibinibenta sa Tawi-Tawi ay galing ng Malaysia at ngayon pa lamang ay apektado na nga kami dahil naghigpit na sila sa mga biyahero mula Tawi-Tawi o Sabah,” he said.
Sultan Jamalul said they had repeatedly appealed to both the Malaysian and the Philippine governments for a dialogue in an effort to resolve the conflict, but were told to surrender instead.
Just over the weekend, Malaysia deported 289 Filipinos rounded up in North Borneo on various violations of immigration laws. The Filipinos arrived by boat in Zamboanga City, but the Department of Social Welfare and Development said the deportation had nothing to do with the hostilities between the Sultanate of Sulu and Malaysian security forces.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government would help the deportees by providing them assistance. “The DOLE helped facilitate their smooth arrival, and we are ready with our reintegration programs and other services for other Filipinos who may decide to return to the country either for good or to wait for the situation to stabilize before returning to Sabah,” Baldoz said.
Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat also expressed alarm over the situation in North Borneo. “We hope there will be no crackdown on Filipinos in Sabah so there will be no increase in the repatriation,” Lobregat said.
Many Muslims in Zamboanga City have expressed support to the historical claims of the Sulu Sultanate over North Borneo and said they are following the news of the fighting on the island. “We are for peace, but North Borneo belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu,” said one Muslim man, Abubakar, while reading a newspaper report on the issue.
Governor Mujiv Hataman, of the Muslim autonomous region, who is the crisis management chief dealing with the issue, held a closed door meeting Tuesday with military and government officials in Zamboanga City.
“We are looking for ways to convince Sultan Jamalul to recall his brother and end the conflict peacefully. We don’t want any more bloodshed, but a peaceful resolve to end this problem,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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