1963 MANILA ACCCORD: KEY TO AVOID WAR OVER NORTH BORNEO

"To honour the 1963 Manila Accord, which is United Nations Treaty 8029, is key to the legal resolution of the North Borneo/Sabah impasse. Kuala Lumpur must and should accept that a United Nations treaty is not something that Malaysia should scoff at. Ask yourselves this: "What good are bona-fide/international treaties if after signing them, the signatory countries refuse to recognise them and instead, discard them like toilet paper?" Honouring the 1963 Manila Accord is the key to avoid war over North Borneo."

Picture of the signing of the Manila Accord - UN Treaty 8029 on 31 July 1963 by (from left)  President Soekarno of Indonesia, President Macapagal of the Philippines and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaya Federation (precursor to Malaysia Federation

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Sabah Claim Society
the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
and the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
17 June 2013 

 

ON 31st JULY 2013 IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MANILA ACCORD*

THE ONLY LEGAL SOLUTION TO THE SABAH QUESTION IS TO HONOUR THE MANILA ACCORD. How? By pressuring Kuala Lumpur to negotiate with the Philippines. However, there is no way in hell that it can happen if President Aquino has put it in his head not to face the question head on or even just to raise - even with a gentle whisper - the 1963 Manila Accord with his great friend in Kuala Lumpur, the not-so-smart (but one who has outsmarted our benighted leader Noynoy at every turn), the one and only corrupt, the greedy Bumiputra Affirmative Action-BN leader, ta da da... Najib Razak, the son of the man who initiated the troubles in Mindanao and caused the Philippines to lose many of its sons and daughters in what was then called the Mindanao Secession Wars of the 70s...

In that UN Treaty - 8029 also known as the Manila Accord, signed on 31 July 1963 by President Macapagal of the Philippines, by future Malaysia Federation Prime Minister (then Malaya Federation) Tunku Abdul Rahman and by President Soekarno of Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur recogonises the validity of the Philippine claim to Sabah and accepts for the Philippine claim to be pursued. NO QUESTION ABOUT THIS!

One wonders why and how can Kuala Lumpur outwit us at every turn? Most of the 20 million Malayans (or Peninsular Malaysians as they are now popularly known) are not that smart, in fact, they are rather stupid, are terribly bone idle, but truly, one wonders how on earth they manage to outwit and outsmart 100 million Filipinos, many of whom boast of a certain degree of sophistication be it in education or in general culture!

The other solution is for Sabah to withdraw from the UK-engineered Malaysia Federation. There seems to be a trend towards this today but will all of Sabah agree? Not sure - Sabahans are just like Filipinos, they are easily conned by nice words, by good bribes and fight each other most of the time. They are rather laid back (understatement) so will take a bit of push from somewhere.

The ultimate solution, one might say, is war. But according to our benighted leader, that's out of the question and we agree with him. We not only do not have the material capability to go to war with Kuala Lumpur, it is also almost a certainty that most of our people will be anti such move. We have seen how PH reacted to the 'excursion' headed by SJKIII's brother - many of our politicians and their supporters almost peed in their pants when the Lahad Datu stand off happened... So let's say, that war is not an option.

If only we didn't have Sulu's Kiram 'intramurals' (the Kiram family bickering, the infighting, the 'faking' or the usurping of the title of sultan of Sulu by Kiram cousins, uncles, brothers, etc, etc, etc, with the help of fake or self-appointed "princes" to confuse the issue) which Malaysia is using to its great advantage, perhaps, things would be slightly different. The claim is further buried in the depth of the Sulu Sea day in, day out, by an extraordinarily weak and inept PH president, to say the least. Alas! The saying that "united we stand divided we fall' is, as always, true. 


*Now, here's Section 12 of the 1963 Manila Accord which we can not and should not poo-pooh...

Section 12 of the Manila Accord - UN TREATY 8029, signed by three heads of states before the creation of the Malaysia Federation namely, Soekarno of Indonesia, Rahman of Malaya and Macapagal of the Philippines, stipulates the following (highlight ours):

"12. The Philippines made it clear that its position on the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia is subject to the final outcome of the Philippine claim to North Borneo. The Ministers took note of the Philippine claim and the right of the Philippines to continue to pursue it in accordance with international law and the principle of the pacific settlement of disputes. They agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia would not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder. Moreover, in the context of their close association, the three countries agreed to exert their best endeavours to bring the claim to a just and expeditious solution by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties' own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Declaration."

To honour the 1963 Manila Accord, which is United Nations Treaty 8029, is key to the legal  resolution of the North Borneo/Sabah impasse. Kuala Lumpur must and should accept that a United Nations treaty is not something that Malaysia should scoff at.  Ask yourselves this: What good are  bona-fide UN international treaties if, after signing them, the signatory countries refuse to recognise them and instead, discard them like toilet paper? Honouring the 1963 Manila Accord is the key  to avoid war over North Borneo. Kuala Lumpur must abide by the treaty.


~~~~O~~~~


Related blog post: Signing of the Manila Accord of 1963

Other links: 

• Post colonial history: British North Borneo/Sabah and the 1963 Manila Accord
• UN Treaties 

Operation Merdeka and its Filipino unsung heroes killed by Kuala Lumpur

"After nearly 50 years, it's time for the Philippine Republic and its government to be brave, to admit officially to the world that PH did plan to 'invade' Sabah -- and not to give a damn about what Kuala Lumpur might think or say, to open the "official" records and give due recognition to those 'unsung, under cover heroes' of the Republic, who had been embedded in Sabah and who were brutally tortured and murdered by Malaysia's dreaded ISA in the run up to the denunciation of Operation Merdeka, so that they may finally rest in peace! The Republic owes them that..."



 

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
for the Defenders of Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
and for the Sabah Claim Society
21 August 2015


The following, in a nutshell, is the "infamous" Operation Merdeka, i.e., Philippine plan to recover Sabah (before the plan was scuttled):

Operation Merdeka was originally the brainchild of President Diosdado Macapagal but its execution was organised by his successor, President Marcos. The plan was not to wage war against the Suluks in Sabah (Suluks are the Tausug inhabitants of Sabah) but only to create disturbance in Sabah. The initial purpose was to INFILTRATE Sabah by sending military trained Tausugs from Sulu to organise huge rallies, enormous rallies (much like what Putin did to Crimea) and to catch the Peninsular Malaysians by surprise... Noting the distance between KL and Kota Kinabalu, Marcos was banking on the element of surprise, i.e., that it would take Kuala Lumpur a great deal of time to scramble their fighters and by then everything would be over. Sabah would be under PH control.

Marcos had a squadron of the the Philippine Air Force which got ready to fly over Kota Kinabalu and other towns (in a bid to frighten whatever KL troops or sentries were there) while the infiltrated troops (Tausugs and their AFP military handlers) were occupying the most sensitive positions, hoist the PH FLAG atop every point, blast the announcement over loudspeakers all over Sabah towns... the PHIL AIR FORCE fighter aircraft then would fly over to signal that Sabah was retaken! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATION MERDEKA

But as ever, Murphy's military law played its hand: "Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong!" because Senator Ninoy Aquino, true to the Aquino clan mantra, would rather sabotage the plan against his own countrys interest to favour the Peninsular Malaysians -- God knows we know not why -- just as Senator Sumulong (his 'uncle-in-law) had done before him and just as his son is doing today.

And what the Filipino public hardly knows about is what happened after Operation Merdeka was denounced: Filipinos under cover, on mission for the  Republic were captured, ruthlessly tortured, killed, and are buried in the recesses of Sabah.

Understand that there were already hundreds of PH assets, military and para-military who had gone under cover and had infiltrated Sabah* (long before the so-called or the sensationalised "Jabidah-Corregidor Massacre" victims); they had already been sent to Sabah, had been lying under cover all over Sabah in preparation for the 'Operation' and who were caught in the quagmire in Sabah (North Borneo) after Sen Ninoy Aquino denounced the operation on the Senate pulpit.

Kuala Lumpur's intel agencies, led by Malaysia's dreaded ISA, moved with lightning speed, captured many of them, tortured and killed many, many of them -- impossible to determine today the number of Filipino para-military and military infiltrates in Sabah who were ruthlessly tortured and summarily executed unless we open PH Government records officially. A horrendous end for these Filipinos who were on mission for the Republic but who remain officially nameless today. They were Filipinos.

*NB: These Operation Merdeka assets had already infiltrated Sabah as moles, plants, sleepers, undercover agents, etc., long before the sensationalised "Jabidah Massacre" and were not the "Tausug trainees' referred to in the Corregidor-Jabidah Massacre episode exposed by Senator Ninoy Aquino and who were still being groomed precisely to join these assets that had already been embedded in Sabah. The embedded assets in Sabah fell victims to Malaysia's killer hands following the denunciation of the Operation in the Senate by Senator Ninoy Aquino.

Until today, many of -- if not all, those nameless PH casualties cannot be officially recognised by our government, cannot be given proper burial, or even just be given proper honours, because to officially recognise them as Operation Merdeka heroes, PH must admit to having planned and partly executed the invasion of Sabah and that just cannot be done according to PH government. So, today, there are many unsung heroes, casualties of this "silent, undeclared war", buried in Sabah without recognition from their government for what they have done in the name of the Republic. But Malaysia knows the crimes it has committed on these people in 1968 and knows that PH doesn't give a damn about them.

It's time to face what happened in Sabah after the scuttling of Operation Merdeka nearly 50 years ago to honour those Filipinos who were sent on a covert mission but never came back because they were captured, tortured and killed by Malaysia if only to give them proper burial.
  
After almost 50 years, it's time for the Philippine Republic and its government to be brave, to admit officially to the world that PH did plan to 'invade' Sabah -- and not to give a damn about what Kuala Lumpur might think or say, to open the "official" records and give due recognition to those 'unsung, under cover heroes' of the Republic who were brutally tortured and murdered by Malaysia's dreaded ISA in the run up to the denunciation of Operation Merdeka so that they may finally rest in peace! The Republic owes them that...

YES TO PEACE, NO TO BBL MANIFESTO

Former DILG chief with some members of FORMA

On Sunday, 24th May, beginning at 8 AM, Rafael Alunan III, former Interior and Local Govenment secretary will be leading a prayer rally at the Luneta Park in Manila under the banner of 'Yes to Peace, No to BBL.'  As the country faces grave threats to its sovereignty, Rafael Alunan III, one of the major state actors who helped paved the way for the PH government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to reach a peace deal in 1996, has emerged as the strongest champion of national cohesion and is widely recognised today as the most fearless advocate for maintaining the country's territorial integrity. ~~ Blog Administrator

MANIFESTO
By Rafael M. Alunan III
22 May 2015
 
MAY 24 YES TO PEACE, NO TO THE BBL PRAYER RALLY 8 A.M. SUNDAY AT THE LUNETA PARK
YES TO PEACE. NO TO THE BANGSAMORO BASIC LAW!  
Retain and Strengthen the ARMM and Local Autonomy.

Today, we find our nation in peril and our democratic way of life under threat, both externally and from within. All too often, the common good and national interests are sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, corruption and self-serving hidden agendas.

Nowhere is this disconnect from reality more pronounced than on the issue of the “peace process” undertaken exclusively with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that produced the Comprehensive Agreement on BangsaMoro (CAB), and the BangsaMoro Basic Law (BBL), a proposed bill that seeks to replace R.A. 6734 that created the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

We believe that a significant majority in Mindanao, and around the country, opposes the CAB-BBL because the process was not transparent, inclusive and thoroughly consultative, not unlike the MOA-AD that the CAB mirrors, which the Supreme Court struck down during the term of former president Gloria Arroyo.

Yet, government has chosen to ignore the people’s dire warnings so far to change course in order to achieve real peace. It continues to press for its passage not later than June 2015. The Aquino administration is subsequently violating the Tripoli Agreement and dismissing the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the MNLF.

We are a group of Filipino citizens from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that oppose the BBL for the following reasons:

1. MALAYSIA: The choice of Malaysia as third party mediator was ludicrous because it is conflicted. Malaysia opposes our Sabah claim and has persistently undermined our nation's stability as a state that funded, organized and trained secessionist groups – originally the MNLF and, subsequently, the MILF.

2. BASIC LAW: The nomenclature BangsaMoro Basic Law (BBL) is in itself, a thinly veiled attempt at usurping the constitution. "Basic Law" connotes a constitution of a state, in this case, the BangsaMoro, to which all laws must conform.

3. BANGSAMORO TERRITORY: Sec 2 to 5, Art III of the BBL defines the BangsaMoro Territory and suggests a separate territorial enclave within sovereign Philippine territory. It aims to give a homeland to a group that does not represent the hopes and aspirations of excluded sectors and infested with Islamist radicals connected to the global jihadist movement under a caliphate.

4. SELF-GOVERNANCE AND RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION: Sec 1 Art IV speaks of self-governance. Later on, the “RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION" was inserted showing manifest bad faith on the part of the MILF. The intent cannot be mistaken for anything but a prelude to a subsequent declaration of independence or secession.

5. A PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Sec 2 Art IV of the BBL prescribes a parliamentary form of government that contravenes Section 1 Art 2 and Sec 1 Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, which mandate a Republican and Presidential form of government.

6. BANGSAMORO POLICE AND BANGSAMORO COMMAND: Sec 2 Art XI creates a BangsaMoro Police, while Sec 15 Art XI establishes a BangsaMoro Command both of which will nominally be part of the PNP and AFP. Their creation constitutes a duplication of sovereign prerogatives, violating Section 3 Article II and Section 6 Article XVI of the 1987 Constitution, which recognize the AFP as the sole bearer of military arms and the PNP as the sole security apparatus of the state, respectively.

7. BANGSAMORO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: The provisions creating a Civil Service (Sec 2 par. 1.8 Art. V); a Police Board equivalent to the NAPOLCOM (Sec 5 Art XI); a Commission on Human Rights (Sec 7 Art IX); a Public Attorney’s Office and Prosecution Service (Sec 18-19 Art X); a Commission on Audit (Sec 2 Art XII); a Tax Office (Sec.11 Art XII), and a Sharia Judicial and Bar Council (Sec 10 Art 10X), can only be viewed as a clear usurpation and duplication of sovereign functions and powers.

8. WALI: Sec 1 Art VIII of the BBL, creating the position of WALI or titular head of the BangsaMoro that mirrors the role of a head of state.

9. RELATIONS WITH THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT: Sec 1-2 Art VI imposes an “Asymmetric Relationship” and “Parity of Esteem” to govern relations between the proposed entity and the Central government giving the former equal status and parity with the latter. With all the elements of a state virtually granted and guaranteed by the proposed basic law (people, sovereignty, territory and government) the BBL will create a parallel state and can lead to no other conclusion other than an eventual bid by the MILF at independence.

10. PEACE PROCESS: We have reason to believe that the process that was undertaken that led to the signing of the CAB was furtive, not unlike the process that the Arroyo Administration chose to take in trying to obtain public approval for the unlamented MOA-AD. Contrary to this administration’s claims, the peace panel chose to be exclusionary and failed to undertake extensive, open and transparent consultations of all stakeholders within the area of interest. The MOA-AD was brought before the Supreme Court where it was struck down for all the reasons mentioned. The same should be done to the CAB-BBL.

11. INTERNAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY: The recent massacre of forty-four (44) PNP Special Action Force law enforcers by the MILF-BIFF and other sympathetic armed groups, has thrown the MILF-BIFF’s sincerity and trustworthiness further into question. The MILF-BIFF is connected to the global jihadist movement, mainly Al Qaeda and Jema’ah Islamiya. Its alleged breakaway group, the BangsaMoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), has reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS. The MILF and BIFF were co-located in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that provided safe harbor to international terrorists with bounties on their heads – Marwan and Usman. Granting the MILF a homeland is akin to putting a revolver to our heads and playing Russian roulette. Retired Supreme Court Justice Florentino Feliciano said he does not believe the BBL alone can bring peace to Mindanao. The peace problem in Mindanao he said “cannot be whisked away by uttering the word 'peace' no matter how often or loudly the utterance might be.”

12. CULTURE: BBL proponents say that ARMM was a “failed experiment” citing the regional government’s failure to reverse its feudalistic practices, poverty, economic backwardness, rebellion, terror and revenge killings. Changing the political system is the recommended solution to its cultural problem. ARMM’s creation was not an experiment. Its failure lies not in the political system but in the attitudes, behavior and skills of the people. Breaking the vicious cycle requires persistent and sufficient investments in capacity and capability building especially in the tenets of good governance. This is the real solution to the failure of governance in ARMM. If the driver keeps crashing the car, the solution is to retrain the driver instead of changing the car.

13. Social Justice: Proponents say that the BBL addresses the centuries of social injustice suffered by the Muslims in Mindanao. Social injustice, we maintain, is a national concern that has bred armed rebellions and social discontent around the country. Feudalistic practices and the revenge culture are causes of social injustice. So is exclusion that the incumbent administration is accused of. In summary, the BBL betrays the public trust, violates the Constitution; undermines Philippine sovereignty and places public safety and internal security at grave risk. While the incumbent administration maintains that peace in Mindanao will be outgrowth of the BBL, we believe otherwise.

The BBL will be the nation’s undoing. It will inflict more violence and bloodshed; and usher in the country’s eventual disintegration. Every Filipino seeks an enduring peace, but not one obtained furtively and ignores the red flags that could further fragment society, dismember the country and cause more bloodshed. The Comprehensive Agreeement on BangsaMoro and the Bangsamoro Basic Law (CAB-BBL), as signed and originally submitted to Congress, respectively, should be stoutly opposed and rejected. We implore you, our people’s representatives, to do what is right for the sake of our people and the nation’s future.

~~~~O~~~~~

Gising mga Muslim! Ang may pag-iisip ay nag-iisip!

"Dahil ang hangad ng Malaysia ay ang yamang langis at yamang likas mula sa mayamang lupa at dagat ng Mindanao. Magsisilbi itong anihan ng yaman para sa mamamayan ng Malaysia sa kanilang pangangailangang mina mula sa lupa, pagkaing halaw sa bukid at isdang galing sa dagat ng Mindanao."

 

By E. S. Cruz
For FORMA - Friends of Rafael Alunan III
20 May 2015

Alam lamang ng Muslim Mindanao ang laban sa kuffar (Christians/Manila). Ang tunay nilang kaaway ay Malaysia kahit isa itong bansang Muslim.
 
Dahil ang hangad ng Malaysia ay ang yamang langis at yamang likas mula sa mayamang lupa at dagat ng Mindanao. Magsisilbi itong anihan ng yaman para sa mamamayan ng Malaysia sa kanilang pangangailangang mina mula sa lupa, pagkaing halaw sa bukid at isdang galing sa dagat ng Mindanao. Ipinain ng Malaysia ang Muslim Mindanao sa laban sa gobyerno upang manghinawa ang Muslim Mindanao sa kakayahang mamuno at magbigay ng sagot ng gobyernong Pilipinas sa pangangailangan ng Mindanao. 
 
Ngayon ay ipinalalabas na 'Peace' o Katahimikan sa pag ayon ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas sa lihim na hangarin ng Malaysia; ang tuluyang paghiwalay ng Mindanao sa Pilipinas at pagsanib sa Malaysia
 
Gising mga Muslim! Ang may pag-iisip ay nag-iisip. May mga bagay ng hindi ninyo gusto subalit makabubuti sa inyo at may mga bagay na inyong gusto subalit makasasama sa inyo.

Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 216
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Fighting is prescribed for you and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth and ye know not.

Quf al BBL wa Sabru!
 
Itigil ang BBL at maghintay. Stop BBL and Wait!
 
Ang Malaysia ay magnanakaw!/ Malaysia al harami'l kubra!
 
Ninanakaw ng Malaysia and lupa at langis ng Sabah!
 
Isusunod ng Malaysia ang pagnanakaw sa Mindanao!

~~~~O~~~~

The author, an administrator of FORMA - Friends of Rafael Alunan III, is Muslim and is a staunch advocate of "YES TO PEACE! NO TO BBL" Movement.

Sultan of Sulu: No to PH consular office in Sabah

Sultan of Sulu: No to PH consular office in Sabah

THE Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo reiterated its rejection of proposals made by Malaysians for the Philippine government to open a consular office in Sabah.

Apparently agitated by the reports that the Aquino administration has decided to open a consular office in Sabah, Sultan Esmail Kiram 2nd, the reigning Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, expressed serious concern.

The Sultan’s wazir, not quite his prime minister but his policy adviser, former Gov. Almarin Centi Tillah of Tawi-Tawi, relayed these concerns to The Manila Times’ Publisher-Editor Rene Bas.

“We have every reason to believe that the plan while being denied publicly by Aquino officials, was agreed upon in secret between President Aquino and Prime Minister Najib Razak,” Al Tillah said.

“This is a betrayal not only of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo but also of the Republic of the Philippines. It is against Philippine national interest to virtually abandon the claim to Sabah by opening a consular office there and thereby show the world that the Philippine government accepts Malaysian sovereignty over Sabah,” he added.

In a separate event also on Monday, the Sultanate’s spokesman, Abhraham Idjurani, told Manila Times reporter Ritchie Horario of the Sultanate’s rejection of the plans “of the government to establish a Philippine consular office in Sabah.

Idjurani said saying that this is tantamount to surrendering Philippine sovereignty over Sabah to Malaysia.

“The Sultanate of Sulu is vehemently opposing any move by Malacañang to put up a Consular Office in the disputed territory,” Idjirani said.

The establishment of a consular office in the disputed territory was raised during the recent visit of President Benigno Aquino 3rd in Malaysia.

In case the plan pushes through, Idjirani said, Aquino would be the first Philippine President to start with “a wrong policy to waste a national legacy and as part of the Muslim contribution to nation building.”

“He has forgotten that any effort to diminish this legacy is a betrayal to the Filipino Great Cause,” he added.

He added that Aquino must remind Malaysia that it should adhere to the rule of law embodied in the 1963 Manila Accord.

North Borneo is that part of Sabah that is the sovereign territory of the reigning Sultans of Sulu and North Borneo.

The present Sultan, Esmail Kiram II, as his predecessors did, gladly accepts the fact of his being a Filipino citizen. Therefore, any lands and seas in his realm is part of the Republic of the Philippines.

That Sabah is Philippine territory is affirmed by the transfer by the then reigning Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, Muhammad Esmail Kiram I, “of full sovereignty, title and dominion” over Sabah to the Philippines on September 12, 1962. The President of the Philippines then was Diosdado Macapagal.

Legal documents show that Sabah was leased by the Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo to agents of the British North Borneo Company. The UK then handed over the lease to the leaders of Malaya when they, with British support, were forming the Federation of Malaysia.

The Malaysian government maintains that Sabah belongs to it and Sabah is a state of the federation. The Philippines disputes that claim.

During President Aquino’s visit to Malaysia last week, Malaysian media once again played up proposals that the Philippines open a consular office in Sabah.

Problems of Filipino “migrants” in Sabah—Filipino Muslims carrying Philippine passports—have been cited by Malaysians as the reason there should be a consulate.

The way the news reached the Philippines, it seemed as if President Aquino and his administration have agreed to these proposals.

That is not true. President Aquino himself has stated that he did not want the Sabah dispute to be discussed but that Prime Minister Najib Razak did.

The Malaysian PM suggested the establishment of a hotline over the Sabah dispute. The hotline would be between the Philippine and Malaysian security authorities. The Malaysian PM himself told journalists this detail.

http://manilatimes.net/sultan-of-sulu-no-to-ph-consular-office-in-sabah/81648/

PH’s Sabah claim not on Aquino agenda

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sulu Sultanate wants to negotiate with Malaysia peacefully over Sabah claim

Sulu Sultanate wants to negotiate with Malaysia peacefully over Sabah claim

January 3, 2014

AFTER its Royal Forces occupied a portion of the disputed Sabah that resulted to a standoff, the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo on Friday expressed willingness to negotiate with the Malaysian government.

Newly installed Sultan Esmail Kiram 2nd has approved the recommendation of the Advisory Council of the Sultanate to push for a peaceful and civilized resolution of the Sabah claim.

“Today, I have approved the recommendation of the Council to resolve the Sabah issue in a civilized and peaceful manner, which recommendation is also sanctioned by the Ulama Council of Mindanao,” Kiram said in a press briefing.

As an initial step, he directed the chairman of the council to form and create a negotiating panel preparatory to the formal negotiation of the territorial dispute between the Sultanate of Sulu and the Federation of Malaysia.

The membership of the panel will be announced by the Sultanate on the next few days.

When asked if a government official will be part of the negotiating panel, the Sultanate said it is no longer necessary since they are claiming a private property and not duly owned by the government.

Kiram also ordered the legal panel of the Sultanate and its international legal experts to prepare the legal groundwork and conduct inventory of legal and historical documents to prove its legal and historical rights over Sabah.

He likewise urged the Philippine government to support the case of the Sultanate to be filed before the International Court of Justice and other international tribunals cognizant of the case.

Kiram said the move is only part of the Sultanate’s “New Year’s resolution to repossess Sabah through peaceful means.”

Sultanate Secretary General Abraham Idjirani said “the entire supporters of the sultanate support the sultan’s desire to reposess Sabah.

He likewise expressed hope that the President Benigno Aquino 3rd will support the sultanate as the “issue involves the interests of the Philippines, the sultanate, and Malaysia.”

More than 200 Royal Security Force (RSF) members headed by Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, younger brother of the reigning sultan, occupied a portion of Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu in Sabah on February 9 last year.

When they were discovered by Sabah authorities, they were asked to withdraw and return to Tawi-Tawi, Mindanao, but they resisted that resulted to a standoff.

A shooting war erupted on March 1, 2013 that led to the launching of an all-out war by the Malaysian Security Forces against the Sultanate’s forces.

The Malaysian government had filed rebellion and terrorism charges against those captured, one of them the son of Sultan, who has denied participation in the standoff.

http://manilatimes.net/sulu-sultanate-wants-to-negotiate-with-malaysia-peacefully-over-sabah-claim/64822/

Bangsamoro pact abolishes ARMM; MILF gets substate status, with 58 ‘exclusive powers

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Who will benefit from an independent "Islamic state of Mindanao"? Why, Malaysia, of course!

In a July 2012 blog of mine, immediately after the Malaysia-inspired GPH-MILF panels came up with their "talking points" for the Framework Agreement which was engineered by Malaysia, I more or less predicted that if you aren't happy with your PH passport, pretty soon you could opt for a MILF passport: "FILIPINO PASSPORT, NOT GOOD ENOUGH? PRETTY SOON, YOU CAN OPT TO HAVE MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front Republic) PASSPORT"

Well, looks like a group is now preparing the ground for just that! In picture is one of their banners: picture of a so-called 'Islamic state of Mindanao' and it's very own 'passport.'

Very soon, President Aquino and his MILF counterpart (egged on by Malaysia deal "engineers") might just present us with an independent Bangsamoro which could even federate with Malaysia in the future. Naknampucha! The beginning of the dismantling of the Republic! Some guys in Malacanang should hang their heads in shame!

When that happens, DON'T CRY FILIPINAS!

We at Philippine Sabah Claim Forum have been telling everybody over and over again, ad nauseum, that this so-called peace deal being engineered by Malaysia is NOT for our good but for the good of Malaysia. Why? Because those bleeding Malaysians will do anything, even make Filipinos kill Filipinos (thanks to our great commander-in-chief) so they could keep Sabah. It's up to Filipinos to stop the future dismantling of the Republic.

~ AdB
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
01 October 2013

On Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF peace deal: A referendum must be held for people to decide

The Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF peace agreement must be submitted to the nation for a referendum.

Why? Because it is about giving up a portion of the country's sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao to a secessionist-separatist group of rebels that we know is under the influence of Kuala Lumpur. And the people must have a say.

We all know that the interest of Kuala Lumpur in this so-called "peace" deal with the MILF is not motivated by altruism. It is borne of strategic thinking: TO USE THE MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT (MILF) and the Bangsamoro against the Republic of the Philippines and to thwart ambitions by the Republic to take Sabah back.

Why are we letting Kuala Lumpur put one over us? People must know that the Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF peace deal IS HOLDING BECAUSE OF A CEASEFIRE that PH Govt signed with the MILF. Note that Malaysia's troops are stationed in Mindanao. If for whatever reason, the ceasefire is violated and an armed conflict between our troops and the MILF ensues, you can be assured that both Malaysia boots and the MILF will fight the troops of our sad Republic. BE WARNED.

~~ Administrators,
Defenders of Philippine Sovereignty blog
19 September 2013
For the
Defenders of Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims community on Facebook
Philippine Sabah Claim Forum group on Facebook
Sabah Claim Society community on Facebook

In picture: Philippine Army gives bronze medals to Malaysian troops in recognition of their efforts to monitor peace between PH Govt and separatist rebel group MILF.

Photo by Ferdinand Cabrera lifted from Rappler.com 

Armed conflicts in Mindanao: Influenced by Malaysia to keep Sabah

All the events involving armed conflicts in Mindanao from 1968, 1969 and specifically in the early 70s until today between the Govt forces and Muslim rebel groups were triggered by the one standing unresolved issue between the Republic of the Philippines and Peninsular Malaysia: Sovereignty rights over Sabah or the Manila Accord. These 'events' have been "influenced" by Malaysia. 

- Malaysia commenced "influencing events" in Southern Mindanao immediately after the discovery of a plan by the Republic to take control of Sabah in 1968

- Malaysia's Tunku Abdul Razak (father of current Malaysia Prime Minister Najib) was the first PM to pour money into Muslim secessionist rebels who at the time were led by Nur Misuari (first chair of MNLF) and seconded by Hashim Salamat (founder of MILF)

- Malaysia's PM Mahathir as soon as he took over continued the exercise and improved Tunku Abdul Razak's modus operandi by modernising the Malaysian armed forces. He then poured resources after resources into and "enlarged" Muslim secessionist training camps in Sabah. Mahathir devoted a great deal of effort in the Islamisation of Sabah by allowing the influx of Muslims from all over the region and granting them Malaysia citizenship in exchange for their votes so that Barisan Nasional (his party) would remain in power. He was responsible for the nationalisation of the oil resources of Sabah and created PETRONAS that would control the industry.

- When FVR's Govt, finally concluded a peace deal with the MNLF in 1996 with the backing of the OIC, Malaysia realised that their attempts to sow trouble in Southern Mindanao through the MNLF of which they were patrons might be endangered. The MILF shunned the 1996 Peace Agreement. Mahathir trained his efforts on the break-away faction headed by Hashim Salamat aka MILF and funded and supported the rebel group.

- In 1998, President Estrada who had just been elected to the presidency, who was despised by Mahathir, decided to launch an offensive against the MILF after intel revealed that the MILF, fully armed with weapons from Malaysia (including missile systems that Mahathir had ordered earlier on) was gearing up for a full scale offensive against government military bases in the South. The AFP won.

- In 1999, the Sipadan hostage crisis took place. Sipadan is a Malaysian resort island. The hostage crisis began the long descent to hell of Estrada.

- In 2004, Gloria Macapagal accepted MILF's demand that Malaysia be the head of the monitoring team to supervise a Framework Agreement. Malaysian troops began to arrive in Southern Mindanao.

- Shortly thereafter, Senator Nene Pimentel questioned the wisdom of calling on Malaysia to oversee the proposed "peace talks" with the MILF invoking the fact that PH has a standing unresolved issue over Sabah

- In 2012, President Aquino handed over to Najib the signed "Talking points" for shared sovereignty between GPH and MILF

- In 2013, Sultanate of Sulu launched siege in Tanduo, Sabah in a bid to re-take Sabah; many Tausugs died; in September, MNLF decided to rally against the planned signing of the Malaysia-inspired wealth sharing agreement between GPH and MILF which is scheduled on 16 September, on the 50th anniversary of the illegal annexation of Sabah to the created Malaysia Federation.

The bottom line is that Malaysia has always put one over GPH in their bid to ensure that PH will never be able to turn around to re-claim Sabah.

Zamboanga City stand-off, Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF peace deal and the 50-year old unresolved Sabah issue

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

MNLF mobilizes Tausug fighters in Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has activated some 4,000 foreign trained Tausug fighters embedded in Sarawak and Sabah in Malaysia, group spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla said yesterday.

Fontanilla said the mobilization of the fighters was aimed to protect Tausugs, who he claimed have been the subject of a crackdown by Malaysian authorities.

He said the MNLF fighters were in addition to the Sulu Sultanate Army led by Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, leading the armed struggle to reclaim their ancestral land in Sabah.

MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari had declared Sarawak and Sabah as part of the Bangsa Moro Republik (BMR).

Fontanilla however clarified the MNLF fighters in Malaysia will act only in self-defense against any attack from Malaysian forces.

Fontanilla declined to elaborate how the armed group, called the Bangsa Moro Army in Malaysia, was “activated,” but a source revealed at least five countries are supporting it with arms shipments that had arrived in the disputed territory.

 “Just like what happened in the early ‘70s at the height of Mindanao conflict, Sabah and Sarawak will be the main base of the Bangsa Moro Army,” the source said.

The source said the MNLF in the early ‘70s had set up guerrilla and training camps in Sabah with the consent of the Malaysian government at the time.

The source added huge arms shipments were also sent to MNLF in Mindanao weeks before Misuari declared independence in Talipao, Sulu last Aug. 12.

“MNLF troops are now bearing modern assault weapons coming from foreign supporters,” the source said.

Fontanilla however denied the arms shipment, saying the reports were part of government propaganda.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/09/09/1188941/mnlf-mobilizes-tausug-fighters-malaysia

Sulu ‘volunteers’ plan Sabah incursions

Sulu ‘volunteers’ plan Sabah incursions

The Sulu Sultanate on Sunday  said  it is sending more “volunteer” fighters to Sabah from Mindanao to reassert its territorial claim over it and to protect the Filipinos there who are being rounded up by Malaysian police.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, said groups of Bangsa Suluk volunteers were preparing to sail to Sabah and join the 1,600-strong Royal Security Forces of the sultanate led by Kiram’s brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.

“They will be going to Sabah because of the un-Islamic rounding up of innocent civilians by the Malaysian security forces,” Idjirani said from Kiram’s residence in Taguig City.

“They feel it is their patriotic duty to protect their countrymen there and to show the world that Sabah is their homeland.”

Asked how many fighters were sailing to Sabah, Idjirani said they had no idea yet but the fighters would be going there quietly in waves or groups to elude the Malaysian and Philippine naval cordons.

Once in Sabah, they would be consolidating forces and communicating with Agbimuddin, who remains in Sabah since sailing there with 200 men in February.

“They are now driven by their belief that Malaysia does not own Sabah,” Idjirani said.

He said the volunteers would come from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Zamboanga.

“Our leaders told us that these Bangsa Suluks have been itching to go to Sabah because they are angry over the Malaysians’ treatment of the Filipino residents of Sabah,” Idjirani said.

He said  some of the Sabah-bound volunteers would be armed, with many of them experienced in battle, although they would not be going to Sabah to wage war.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/07/29/sulu-volunteers-plan-sabah-incursions/

Kick out Malaysia troops from Mindanao! Kick out Malaysia from so-called peace talks with the MILF

We have always said that we should not allow Malaysia to engineer peace talks. 

We don't have anything against wealth sharing with members of our country, individuals or groups but we take issue with the presence of Kuala Lumpur. We don't want Kuala Lumpur's people in Mindanao. We don't want their troops in Mindanao. And this entire GPH-MILF so-called peace framework agreement has sidelined groups in Mindanao notably the MNLF and the Sultanate of Sulu whose sons and daughters are languishing in jail and possibly will face the death penalty in Kuala Lumpur government prisons over the Tanduo, Sabah siege in February. 

Why did they do that? Why did President Aquino approve such Malaysia-engineered arrangement? Because we figure it is his way of annihilating the Philippine claim to Sabah. He is not a true patriot. We must be extremely careful that we are not actually "selling" off a piece of Mindanao to appease Malaysia through Kuala Lumpur-funded rebels MILF.

Kick out Malaysia troops from Mindanao! 


It smacks of great stupidity to allow Kuala Lumpur to engineer this so-called peace talks. President Aquino, ever the appeaser himself said that he has a personal debt of gratitude to Malaysia. What debt of gratitude? His father's debt of gratitude to the Malaysians, to Mahathir via the Sultan of Johor, is not the nation's debt. President Aquino's sister, Kris Aquino, who, by the way, has been cavorting with the Sultan of Johor if we believe her own show, could very well pay for that debt personally and there's no need to involve the nation's national integrity in that Aquino debt of gratitude.

It smacks of common sense that you do not allow one with whom you have an outstanding territorial dispute to engineer an important peace initiative with your country's secessionist rebels. And we have an outstanding territorial dispute over Sabah with Kuala Lumpur. 

Doesn't the Aquino Administration know that Malaysia, the engineers of the so-called peace framework, has been funding rebels against this govt for the last 40 years? Kuala Lumpur has been funding the MILF to sow terror in Muslim Mindanao. Kuala Lumpur has been able to stage manage this rebellion and then convinced the Philippine government to accept Malaysia boots in Mindanao. How stupid and idiotic can one get!

Malaysia has not even deigned honor the Manila Accord, a United Nations treaty no less, which was signed 50 years ago and you trust them not to be in cahoots with the MILF to push the 13 provinces to ultimately secede from the Philippines? 

Once more with feeling: You cannot and must not trust the MILF. They do not speak for all the Muslims in Mindanao. They do not represent the great Bangsamoro. There are at the very least 5 rebel factions in Mindanao among which is the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the enemies of the MILF, on top of which you have the Sultanate of Sulu which has been sidelined by this inept Aquino Administration.

The MILF has been funded by Kuala Lumpur since the early 70s to wage war against the Republic of the Philippines. They are the permanent boots of Kuala Lumpur in Mindanao. Wake up. Open your eyes. 

A Malaysia-engineered so-called peace framework cannot bring the ultimate peace that you desire.

Start all over again! Kick out Malaysia from "peace talks" and kick out "Malaysia troops" from Mindanao. Select another country to chair peace talks and assemble, include all the rebel groups in Mindanao in the drafting of a peace agreement. To achieve a minimum of just and lasting peace, the process must be inclusive otherwise pockets of war will be inevitable.

~~ By HM Sultana Matt Salleh
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
15 July 2013