UPDATE ON SO-CALLED ARMED INTRUSION INTO SABAH BY SULU SULTANATE DESCENDANTS

GOF personnel unloading food rations that were provided to the armed intruders on humanitarian grounds.

GOF personnel getting ready their fire arms and supplies before heading to the front line.

A road block mounted near Bakapit where the intruders had remained holed up for the last five days.

Malaysian police force getting their firearms and supplies ready to confront "intruders" from Sulu

FEB 17 2013 UPDATE ON STAND OFF IN SABAH: 
LATEST ON SABAH STAND OFF: NEGOTIATIONS 'OVER'; 'INTRUDERS' TO BE DEPORTED SOON; MALAYSIA HOME MINISTER ADMITS "INTRUDERS" ARE SUPPORTERS OF SULU SULTANATE

REPORT: Negotiations over; intruders to be deported soon

IN PICTURE: A road block mounted near Bakapit where the intruders had remained holed up for the last five days.

KOTA KINABALU: Police are in the process of deporting a group of Philippine nationals, who intruded into Lahad Datu on Tuesday.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said police had ended negotiations with the group and was now focusing on deporting them back to the Philippines.

“We have told them we cannot entertain them because they chose the wrong platform to voice what they want.

“So, now we can only carry out the process of sending them back so that they can find a suitable channel to air their demands,” he told reporters after carrying out checks on the Ops Selamat traffic safety operation in conjunction with the Chinese New Year at Jesseltion Point, here, Saturday.

When asked when the group would be sent home, Hamza said: “As soon as possible.”

Prior to this, the group had demanded that they be recognised as the Royal Soldiers of the Sultanate of Sulu and they did not want citizens of Sulu origin in Sabah to be sent back to the Philippines.

Earlier, in PUTRAJAYA, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein also said the armed group will be deported back to their country as soon as possible, said

He said discussions were in progress between the relevant parties to avoid any untoward incidents, included bloodshed.

However, he said he could not furnish details on the discussions and that any latest development on the matter would be announced by the Sabah police chief.

“Based on intelligence sources, they are not from a militant or terrorist group. They are supporters of the Sulu Sultanate and I hope, and pray, that they can be deported soon,” he added.
A road block mounted near Bakapit where the intruders had remained holed up for the last five days.

A road block mounted near Bakapit where the intruders had remained holed up for the last five days.

Hishammuddin also hit out at those who spread false information and speculation on the matter, including on security in Sabah, as well as the rights and status of the Sabah people.

“The government will not compromise on the rights and security of the people of Sabah,” he added.

On Tuesday, members of the group, comprising more than 100 people in army camouflage landed on the shores of Lahad Datu in speedboats.

Link: http://borneoinsider.com/2013/02/16/negotiations-over-intruders-to-be-deported-soon/

FOOD SUPPLIES AND WATER BEING ALLOWED INTO KAMPUNG* TANDUO, SABAH WHERE 300-STRONG GROUP OF ARMED MEN ARE FACING MALAYSIAN SECURITY FORCES

IN PICTURE: GOF personnel unloading food rations that were provided to the armed intruders on humanitarian grounds.

*"Kampung" is Bahasa word for 'village'

Tight security at Sahabat 17; food being allowed through

By Alexander Chen reporting from CENDERAWASIH (LAHAD DATU): Food supplies and water are being allowed into Kampung Tanduo where a 300-strong group of armed men are facing a stand-off with Malaysian security forces.

A highly placed officer with the security forces said the supplies were provided on humanitarian grounds while negotiations go on.

Otherwise all routes in the Felda Sahabat 17 oil palm plantation, leading to Tanduo, a seaside village of about 80, have been blocked off by armed General Operations Force personnel.

“For safety reasons we are not allowing anyone and that includes you media people, into Tanduo,” said a senior officer. “The risks are too high.”

He and other policemen made it clear that they were not allowed to speak to the media, but spoke of other things to make light of the situation.

They were noticeably tense though, while waiting for emissaries negotiating with the intruders to return.

At the entrance of Sahabat 17, through bumpy oil palm estate roads, GOF men were seen patrolling the outer fringes of Kg Tandou, but they were sticking to orders not to move in.
GOF personnel getting ready their fire arms and supplies before heading to the front line.

GOF personnel getting ready their fire arms and supplies before heading to the front line.

The heavy presence of security forces has ensured safety for those working and living in nearby plantations which come under the Felda commercial oil palm scheme.

While GOF personnel have cordoned of the plantation route, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) , Marine police and navy have cut off the sea entry from southern Philippines whose closes islands were Sipangkut and Sibutu, only 15 minutes away by speed boat.

At the shores of Tanjung Labian about 50kms away from Tanduo, police and navy units kept a close watch on fishing boats landing.

In Lahad Datu town, a two-hour away from the standoff village, police were seen screening immigrants and locals, with soldiers on standby at various points.

LINK: http://borneoinsider.com/2013/02/16/tight-security-at-sahabat-17-food-being-allowed-through/

LtColonel Romulo D. Quemado, Commander of the Philippine Marines Battalion Landing Team 2, Jolo, Sulu conferred the Distinguished Companion of the Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl

IN PICTURE: HM Sultan Muedzul-Lail T Kiram, 35th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah) seen here conferring on LtColonel Romulo D. Quemado, Commander of the Philippine Marines Battalion Landing Team 2, Jolo, Sulu, the Distinguished Companion of the Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl (Royal House of Sulu, Kiram Dynasty)

SENATOR KOKO PIMENTEL ON THE PHILIPPINE CLAIM TO SABAH: "WE HAVE NOT ABANDONNED OUR CLAIM TO SABAH."

Senator Koko Pimentel

His father, the highly esteemed Senator Nene Pimenter, launched the first salvo of the 21st century for the reclamation of Sabah. Today, Senator Koko Pimentel is taking on the mantle of responsibility to ensure that our claim to is not dead and buried!!! Hurrah! Thank you Senator Koko!

SENATOR KOKO PIMENTEL ON THE PHILIPPINE CLAIM TO SABAH*: "WE HAVE NOT ABANDONNED OUR CLAIM TO SABAH."

By including the teaching of our claim to Sabah in our schools, the Mindanao lawmaker said, “succeeding generations will be able to thoroughly understand the issue and pursue the claim through peaceful means in international courts.”

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Koko: Educate our youth on Sabah claim
February 16, 2013

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, PDP Laban President, today proposed the teaching of the Philippine claim to Sabah in schools to educate the new generation on the historical basis and current status of the claim.

Pimentel made the proposal amid reports that Malaysia had detained a group of around 100 Filipinos from Mindanao who had gone to Sabah to assert the historical claim of the Sultanate of Sulu on the territory, located on the northern tip of the island of Borneo which is part of Malaysia.

By including the teaching of our claim to Sabah in our schools, the Mindanao lawmaker said, “succeeding generations will be able to thoroughly understand the issue and pursue the claim through peaceful means in international courts.”

“We have not actually abandoned our claim to Sabah. In fact, until some years back, Malaysia actually paid the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu a fixed amount as rental for their occupation of Sabah,” Pimentel said.

“But our claim was sidetracked by events particularly the outbreak of armed conflict in Mindanao when the Moro National Liberation Front launched a separatist movement in the early 1970s,” Pimentel explained.

Since then, he said, the Sabah claim had to be put in the backburner as the Philippine government tried to cope with the armed conflict through both the use of military force and political negotiations.

Since Malaysia is a fellow member-nation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, with whom we have close diplomatic, trade and economic relations, Pimentel said, our two countries can certainly deal with the matter rationally and with good faith defuse whatever tension was caused by recent circumstances in a manner that befits civilized nations.

Tags: Foreign Policy, Koko Pimentel, Sabah, Team PNoy.

TO READ SENATOR KOKO'S PIECE ON PARTIDO LIBERAL WEBSITE, link here.

*Reported by Filipina Maharlika one of the founders and creators of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum

Datu Agbimuddin, younger brother of Royal Datu Jamalul III and Royal Datu Esmail II, has indeed launched an 'invasion of Sabah'

ON 'BREAKING NEWS' yesterday 14 February: "MALAYSIA IN BORNEO STANDOFF WITH ARMED INTRUDERS" as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer:

NB: ALSO, PLEASE SEE OFFICIAL STATEMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST FROM HM SULTAN MUEDZUL KIRAM, 35th and currently reigning Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo. (For information, Sultan Muedzul is busy overseeing a construction project in Sulu as we post this.)

MEANWHILE, AS SOON AS WE GOT WIND OF THE NEWS HERE AT DEFENDERS, WE IMMEDIATELY INQUIRED INQUIRED WITH THE SULTANATE OF SULU AND HAVE RECEIVED CONFIRMATION THAT A GROUP HEADED BY SOMEONE CLAIMING TO BE DESCENDANT OF THE SULTAN OF SULU HAS INDEED 'INVADED SABAH.'

We also have received confirmation that the leader of the group is Datu Agbimuddin, younger brother of Royal Datu Jamalul III and Royal Datu Esmail II. The group entered Sabah with Royal Armed Forces elements. Datu Agbimuddin who is also known as 'Puing' by his relatives and close friends, was accompanied by 200 members of his security group but 50 of them had been captured by a Malaysian Navy boat. The rest of the group is now surrounded by Malaysian commando. The confirmation report from the Sultanate of Sulu expressed deep concern for Datu Agbimuddin's followers.

THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL STATEMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE ROYAL HOUSE OF SULU TODAY, Friday, 15 February 2013:

"Ampun Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, 35th Sultan of Sulu, son of Ampun Moh. Mahakuttah A. Kiram (last recognised Sultan of Sulu by Philippine government under Presidential Memorandum Order 427 issued in 1974 by President of Philippines H.E. Ferdinand Marcos), 34th Sultan of Sulu and grandson of Ampun Esmail E. Kiram, 33rd Sultan of Sulu, is aware that early morning of Tuesday, about 100-200 people, some of them armed men and a handful of women, boarded speedboats on Simunul Island in Tawi-Tawi, Philippines and left for Lahad Datu, a coastal area in Sabah in northern Borneo.  

"These men and women were leaded by Datu Ajbimuddin Kiram, who is younger brother of one of the self-styled Sultans of Sulu. Currently there are up to 60 people who claim to be Sultans of Sulu. This incident has nothing to do with the Royal Court neither with legitimate Sultan of Sulu. Ampun Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, 35th Sultan of Sulu, who lives in Jolo, Sulu is a peaceful man who is working close by with Philippine marines to maintain peaceful and safe environment in Sulu archipelago." 

~~ Admins, Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims

Link to Sultan Muedzul Kiram wall on Facebook, link here

NB: We are monitoring this "stand off" and will share whatever info we receive. Thank you.

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON DEFENDERS OF PHILIPPINE SABAH & SPRATLY CLAIMS community wall 

MALAYSIA WATCH: Christians are forbidden to use the word 'Allah' for God in Selangor or face 'stern punishment'

IF YOU ARE IN MALAYSIA - IN THE STATE OF SELANGOR (the most prosperous state in Malaysia) SPECIFICALLY, OR EVEN IN PENANG, AND YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, BE ADVISED NOT TO USE THE WORD "ALLAH" OR YOU RUN THE RISK OF BEING STERNLY PUNISHED.

"Allah" has been used by Indonesians and Malaysians to refer to God which was used in the traditional translations of the Christian Holy Bible dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Sultan Sharafudrin Idris Shah of Selangor

But be informed the Sultan of the Malaysian state Selangor himself -- Sultan Sharafudrin Idris Shah (shown in picture), has issued a decree that ‘Allah’ can be used only by Muslims and those who violate the ruling will receive stern punishment. 

We have reported about this Sultanate of Selangor ruling recently. In fact, we also reported that a Catholic Bishop had taken the Malaysia Sultan of Selangor to court for arbitrary ruling on freedom of religion but there has been no judgement yet. 

In our view, Malaysia Courts will find it difficult to reverse the Sultan of Selangor ruling. High reverence for sultans across Malaysia, where Islam is the religion practised by more than 63% of the population, is something that Malaysia courts will find hard to ignore. The Sultan of Selangor is one of the nine hereditary sultanate rulers of Malaysia who take turns to become King of Malaysia and Malaysia Courts will be hard put to go against the decision of one of the hereditary monarchs.

According to a Muslim Exclusive report, “Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah made a decision and decreed that the word ‘Allah’ is a sacred word specific to Muslims and it is prohibited to be used by any non-Muslim in Selangor.” 

No less than the the Islamic Affairs Council of Selangor state released the Selangor sultan's decision. The Islamic council  also warned that "a stern action" was ordered against those questioning the new fatwa. 

But Malaysia's Council of Churches also said it will continue to use the word “Allah” in the Malay version of the Bible and issued the following statement: “Many indigenous communities in our nation have incorporated this word in their everyday language. That being the case, we shall continue this practice, and call on all parties to respect this fundamental right guaranteed to them in the country's Federal Constitution.” 

Cory Aquino did not give away Sabah! Fact is fact! In other words, anti-Sabah proponents cannot use that argument

PLEASE BE WARNED: THE POSTER SAYING "SHE GAVE SABAH AWAY" IS WRONG!

IT IS NOT TRUE THAT MRS AQUINO GAVE SABAH AWAY... WE NEED NOT LIKE A PARTICULAR PRESIDENT BUT WE MUST STICK TO FACTS! 

WE ARE RATHER SURPRISED TO READ AN ASSERTION IN SOME POSTS IN OTHER PAGES ON FACEBOOK THAT PRESIDENT CORY AQUINO GAVE SABAH AWAY.... To assert such notion is to play right into Malaysia's thieving hands!

BEFORE ANYTHING, we would like to assure everybody that we do not profess to be a pro-Aquino or pro-Marcos community nor anti any one of them. We are Patriots and as such defenders of Philippine sovereignty above all else.

We believe that those who insist that Pres Cory Aquino gave away Sabah are playing right into Malaysia's hands. They don't have to be pro-Aquino or pro-Marcos or even anti any one of them but FACTS ARE FACTS. 

What is the basis of those accusing Mrs Aquino of "giving Sabah away?" The real question is what is the reason for saying that Mrs Aquino "gave Sabah away?" We have a suspicion that those who are asserting that the former president "gave Sabah away", in fact, oppose the nation's Sabah claim and use the tired, old, unfounded argument that Mrs Aquino had given Sabah away.

It is true that Mrs Aquino tried to convince the Kirams to give up or to abandon the Sabah claim In fact, Mrs Aquino, it was said, had tried to have a bill filed through Congress to officially drop the Sabah claim but the move received strong opposition and so was in itself dropped.

Besides, Mrs Aquino could not have given away Sabah until Republic Act 5446, which stipulates that Sabah is Philippine territory, is officially repealed. Understandably, Mrs Cory Aquino might not have been interested in getting it back or did not do what was needed to be done, eg.,taken Malaysia to the ICJ, but neither did she (she simply could not legally do it) relinquish sovereignty rights over Sabah which as everyone knows the Philippine government obtained under President Diosdado Macapagal when the Sultanate of Sulu, Sultan Esmail Kiram I officially transferred Sabah's sovereignty rights to the Republic on 12 Septe 1962 or a year before then Malaya Federation physically annexed Sabah. 

Moreover, the 1987 Constitution makes absolutely no mention of giving away sovereignty rights over Sabah which, again, the Philippines at the time possessed.

Here is Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution (promulgated under President Cory Aquino): 

ARTICLE I- NATIONAL TERRITORY

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. 

Allow us to be emphatic: "...all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty" ...

HM Sutan Muedzul and family

HM Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, 35th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, together with HM Mellany S. Kiram and HRH Crown Prince Moh. Ehsn S. Kiram.