‘Don’t harm my followers in Sabah’

A supposed heir to the Sulu sultanate wants the Malaysian
government not to harm his followers and wants the
Philippine president to peacefully settle their claims to Sabah.

ZAMBOANGA CITY: A supposed heir to the throne of the sultanate of Sulu province has called on Malaysia not to harm the sultanate’s followers holed out in Lahad Datu.

Sultan Raja Mohammad Ghamar Mamay Hasan Abdurajak said that Sabah rightfully belongs to the sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo and he wants President Benigno Aquino to peacefully their claims.

He also said 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 Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi.

Lahad Datu – a dangerous game

Source

Why haven't the Sabah police acted against rumoured
disturbances within the state following the 'siege' by
militants in Lahad Datu?

LAHAD DATU: The current drama in Lahad Datu following the incursion of armed men from the Philippines and the government’s “gentle” approach to the situation could backfire on the Barisan Nasional leadership if it is indeed a tactical strategy to scare Sabahans into voting for the ruling coalition.

“If this is the BN game, then it is a dangerous strategy,” said State Reform Party (STAR) chief Jeffrey Kitingan.

“It [the strategy] is a double-edged sword because it can backfire and cause the people to vote against the BN for its obvious failure in flexing the [government's] military muscle for the sake of national dignity and sovereignty.

Lahad Datu stand-off: 3 Al-Jazeera journalists detained for 7 hrs

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LAHAD DATU: Three Al-Jazeera journalists covering the stand-off with the Sulu gunmen were detained for nearly seven hours by the police and released.

They were detained at about 8am on Wednesday in a boat near Tanjung Labian not far from the seaside village of Kg Tanduo and taken to the Cenderawasih police station for questioning.

Detained together with them was a boatman and three locals.

Is Lahad Datu siege a Umno-BN plan?

The government's 'unconvincing actions' via negotiations
had 'legitimised' the Sulu army's demands and made us
a laughing stock, said STAR chief Jeffrey Kitingan.

By Raymond Tombung

KOTA KINABALU: Is the incursion of more than 100 armed Filipino men from the alleged royal Sulu army an elaborate federal level Umno strategy to scare Sabahans into voting back the Barisan Nasional in the 13th general election?

Is that why the federal government and its top leaders – Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak included – seem unperturbed by the threats and demands of the Manila-acknowledged Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III and his men led by brother Raja Muda Abimuddin who are holed up in Lahad Datu since Feb 9?

Isn’t it possible that Putrajaya and Manila are in cahoots? After all, it has been reported in the Philippine media that President Benigno Aquino was “informed of the incursions from Day One”. Also noteworthy is that Malaysia took credit as peacemaker in the long-drawn insurgency in the southern Philippines.