KL flip-flops, now says Agbimuddin may be in Sabah

LAHAD DATU, Malaysia—Malaysian authorities are flip-flopping on the whereabouts of the elusive Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, leader of a group of armed members of the so-called “royal army”  of the Sultanate of Sulu who occupied a coastal village in Lahad Datu last month were subsequently dislodged by Malaysian security forces backed by aerial and artillery bombardment.

“We believe he’s in the Philippines but he could be here,” Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib said in a press conference late Saturday afternoon, after Malaysian officials said Kiram had slipped out of Sabah and was back in the Philippines.

Hamza said he did not have to inform his Philippine counterparts on the developments regarding Agbimuddin Kiram’s whereabouts, saying that if he were caught in the Philippines, then he would be dealt with by Philippine law.

Earlier Saturday, Hamza said only 50 followers of Agbimuddin were left in Lahad Datu after their leader and some of his men slipped out of the east Malaysian state.

The “Operasi Daulat” or “Operation Sovereignty” against Agbimuddin and his men will continue, with the operations of Malaysian security forces now focused on Tanjung Batu, a village within Felda Sahabat.

A month ago, Agbimuddin and his Royal Army arrived in the village of Tanduo, near Tanjung Batu, in Felda Sahabat to revive the Sulu sultanate’s long-dormant claim to Sabah, surprising both Philippine and Malaysian officials.

Agbimuddin’s group engaged Malaysian security forces in a two-week-long standoff before fighting erupted on March 1, leading to the ongoing “Operation Sovereignty.”

Malaysia’s top security officials announced late Friday that the leader of the so-called Royal Army of Sulu had slipped out of Sabah and was back in the southern Philippines.

Malaysian Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said Friday that Agbimuddin, along with a number of his men, had “fled” back to the southern Philippines.

“Azzimudie has abandoned his men and fled to his homeland,” Gen. Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said at a joint media conference with Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar in Kota Kinabalu Friday night, according to a report posted on The Star Malaysia website.

Zulkifeli said the information was based on feedback from his commanders on the ground. The reports  indicated that Agbimuddin was no longer with his men in Sabah, he said.

The military chief did not provide any details on when and how, and from where, Agbimuddin slipped out.

When asked for these details on Saturday, Sabah police commissioner Hamza Naib was evasive. “We are in a war situation. We don’t deal with theories,” he said.

But Philippine Daily Inquirer sources in the Philippines’ defense establishment said that there was no information about Agbimuddin being in the Philippines.

“Malaysia must have some basis for saying that the Raja Muda has left Sabah. But as long as we have no information that validates his presence here (Philipines), he’s there (Sabah),” one of the Inquirer sources in Manila said in a phone interview.

Another source said in a separate interview that Manila was continuing to gather information about Agbimuddin’s whereabouts.

The sources spoke to the Inquirer on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, laughed off Malaysia’s announcement that Agbimuddin had left Sabah.

“That’s only propaganda by Malaysia. They’re saying that so as not to disturb their elections. I don’t have to explain that. It is a counter-strategy,” Idjirani said in a phone interview late Friday night.

Idjirani said he last spoke to Agbimuddin at 2 p.m. Friday and that the leader of the Royal Army remained in Sabah.

Told about the sultanate’s denial that Agbimuddin was no longer in Sabah, Hamza said: “I can tell you from day one, I never trusted Jamalul Kiram. He can say anything. As I mentioned just now, if Agbimuddin is there (Mindanao), there is no problem for us. There are investigation papers and we will deal with it according to our laws.”

Hamza said Kuala Lumpur would use diplomatic channels to have Agbimuddin extradited to Malaysia to face the charges against him if the Sulu leader were caught in the Philippines.