Sultanate won’t give up fight over Sabah
AS the
Muslim community celebrates Eid’l Adha, the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo
on Tuesday assured that it will never abandon its territorial claim over Sabah .
Sultanate Spokesman and Secretary-General
Abraham Idjirani said that they have no plans of giving up their fight to
regain Sabah from the Malaysia
despite the lack of support from the Philippine government.
“The claim of the Sultanate of Sulu over Sabah
through the GRP [Government of the Republic of the Philippines ] is now abandoned by
the Philippine government,” he said.
Because of that, he added, “the Sultanate is
compelled to pursue independently the claim, acting on its historic and legal
rights over Sabah .”
He said the continued presence of Raja Muda
(crown prince) Agbimuddin Kiram to Sabah ,
along with the 200 fighters of the Royal Security Forces (RSF) only proves
their assertion of their sovereign and proprietary rights over the territory.
“The RSF remained in Lahad Datu, maintaining a
defensive stand to avoid further clashes with the Malaysian security forces,”
Idjirani said.
The sultanate’s presence in Sabah, Idjirani
added, also hopes to prove to the international community that Malaysia does
not respect international agreements as in the case of the Manila Accord of
1963.
“Malaysia
is a mere administrator of Sabah as the issue
is still pending resolution in the UN since 1962,” Idjirani said.
He said the RSF fighters were
continuously repositioning in controlled areas to avoid an encounter with the
Malaysian forces, which is in compliance with the previous call of the United
Nations for sobriety.
On February, Sultan Jamalul Kiram 3rd sent his
brother, Raja Muda to Sabah, along with 200 fighters to revive the
sultanate’s long-standing claim over the resource-rich Sabah .
The intrusion prompted the Malaysian military
to launch offensive operations to flush out Kiram’s armed followers.
A total of 68 members of the sultanate’s
fighters and 10 Malaysian policemen and soldiers were killed in the series of
clashes.
According to Idjirani, seven months after the
cessation of hostilities, the RSF in Sabah has
grown to 1,600 men, backed up by volunteers from the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF). RITCHIE A. HORARIO
http://manilatimes.net/sultanate-wont-give-up-fight-over-sabah/45036/
No comments:
Post a Comment