Aquino accused of listening to Malaysian sultan over advisers on Sabah row

Princess Jacel Kiram. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The daughter of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III on Wednesday accused President Benigno Aquino III of listening to the advice of Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of the sultanate of Johor, Malaysia regarding the Sabah crisis.

In a news briefing at their residence in Taguig City, Princess Jacel Kiram also slammed the President for his alleged pro-Malaysian stance in the territorial dispute.

“Who is [Ismail]… to you? Is he the person responsible why the President wouldn’t listen to any advice from any of his political counsels?” Jacel read from a prepared statement.

“Mr. President, was he the same person who lived with you in Boston when your father was there? What does he have to do with your act regarding this issue?” she asked.

Citing “Malacanang officials,” Jacel said the President’s late father, martyred opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., lived with the Ismails in Boston, Massachusets, where Aquino’s father stayed after undergoing a heart surgery during the martial law.