Malaysia on lookout for ‘leader from Sulu’

KOTA KINABALU—Malaysia’s security forces are closely monitoring information that another leader from Sulu in the Philippines plans to enter Sabah in order to meet with local political figures.

Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib said that should the Sulu leader—whom he did not name—follow the proper channels of entry into Sabah, this would not be a problem.

“But if he threatens the security of the state, the police will act accordingly.

“At the moment, we are keeping an eye on the individual (a senior leader of a Sulu group), who is planning to come to Malaysia to meet with a political leader.

“As far as I am concerned, this individual can enter Malaysia legally as we are a free country and we do not stop people from coming here,” he said.

“However, if anyone tries to cause chaos or threaten us, we will not hesitate to take stern action,” he told reporters after launching the second phase of a motorcycle patrolling unit at Taman Suria near Penampang here yesterday.

Hamza was commenting on a statement by the inspector general of the  police, Khalid Abu Bakar, that a senior leader of a Sulu group was planning to enter Sabah.

The Sulu leader reportedly claimed his group was not related to the one led by Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of the late self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram, which entered Lahad Datu’s coastal village of Tanduo on Feb. 12 last year, demanding the return of Sabah to the Sultanate of Sulu.

Hamza said Malaysia police were ready to face any group that would threaten the country’s sovereignty.

“This is a warning. Do not try to cause chaos or underestimate our security forces as we are always ready to face any threat to protect our country,” he said, adding that security forces under the Eastern Sabah Security Command were ready to defend the country.

Hamza also said there had been information of possible intrusions by various groups since the assault on Tanduo but none had been successful since Malaysian forces had remained vigilant.

In February last year, some 200 armed men calling themselves the Royal Army of the Sulu sultanate invaded a vast Malaysian region, sparking a security crisis that left dozens of people dead. Stunned, Malaysia responded by sending in ground troops and launching air strikes. Police arrested over a hundred people and scores have since been charged with “terrorism.”

The offensive was reportedly led by the brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who died in Quezon City only months after the incident.

The late sultan’s wife, Fatima, told The Associated Press that her husband, before he died, ordered his family and followers to keep alive the historic territorial claims to Sabah state in neighboring Malaysia.—The Star/Asia News Network, AFP