Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. AP FILE PHOTO
SUBANG JAYA, Malaysia—Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday said the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Sabah should surrender or “face the action” of Malaysian security forces.
“The Sulu rebels have to surrender or they will face the action of our security forces,” he told a press conference on Saturday after paying his last respects to the two commandos killed during a gunbattle with the Filipino gunmen in a remote village in Lahad Datu Friday.
Najib said his government has closed the window for negotiations, telling Kiram’s followers to surrender of face the repercussions at the hands of Malaysian security forces.
Speaking to reporters at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base here, Najib said he had spoken to President Benigno Aquino on Friday night regarding the matter.
Aquino on Saturday also urged the sultan’s followers to “surrender now” as he admonished them for choosing a wrong path to stake their claim on Sabah.
Twelve of the close to 200 Filipinos in Sabah and two Malaysian security personnel were killed in Friday’s firefight that was reported to have ended the standoff.
The dozens of Kiram followers have been holed up on Borneo Island, surrounded by a massive Malaysian police and military cordon, since landing by boat from Mindanao to insist the area belongs to their Islamic leader. With Agence France-Presse
Aquino to Sulu ‘army’: ‘Surrender now’