10,000 more Suluks have joined battle for Sabah, MNLF official claims

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 – Thousands of Tausug, also known as the Suluks, have sailed to Sabah to help their fellow Filipino militants in eastern Sabah who have reportedly gone into hiding following the heavy assault by Malaysian forces since morning, The Philippine Inquirer reported today.

The claim, made by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Islamic council committee chairman Habib Hashim Mudjahab, contradicts reports elsewhere that security forces in both Malaysia and Philippines have blocked off entry points into the beleaguered Lahad Datu township, where the militants are holed up.

“We can no longer prevent our people. We are hurt and many of our people, even the non-combatants, are going to Sabah to help the sultanate,” Mudjahab was quoted as saying in the report.

But the Inquirer also reported denials of any such reinforcements being sent into Sabah from Lt. Gen, Rey Ardo, chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, and acting Governor Mujib Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Both men said they are not aware of any reinforcements sent to aid the self-proclaimed royal army of the Sulu Sultanate.

According to Mudjahab, however, at least 10,000 Tausugs from Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga had left Philippine waters from last night in small batches, entering Sabah through what they call the “southern backdoor” – a route that regular traders are familiar with.

The MNLF official said the naval blockade was of no use as those who know the route well would be able to slip into the east Malaysian state easily, and without raising any suspicion.

“It is about pride and honor, and our people are ready to sacrifice,” he added.

Earlier today, the MNLF chief Nur Misuari denied at a press conference any involvement in the Sulu standoff in Sabah, which is still raging on as Malaysian forces scour the length and breadth of Lahad Datu in search of the gunmen.

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Malaysia unleashes military on Filipino invaders

Malaysia's military Tuesday launched a fierce assault including jet fighters on up to 300 Filipino intruders after a deadly three-week standoff, as their leader vowed they would fight to the death.

However, Malaysia's national police chief said more than nine hours after the attack began that "mopping up" operations had yet to find any dead militants, and expressed fears that at least some of them might have slipped away.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said he had no choice but to unleash the military to try to end Malaysia's biggest security crisis in years after the interlopers refused to surrender and 27 people were killed.

A day after the Philippines called for restraint, Malaysia launched a dawn assault on the estimated 100-300 gunmen, who invaded to claim Malaysian territory on behalf of a former Philippine sultanate.

Fighter jets bombed the standoff village of Tanduo in Sabah state on the northern tip of Borneo island, followed by a ground assault by troops. The area is set amid vast oil-palm plantations.

"The longer this invasion lasts, it is clear to the authorities that the invaders do not intend to leave Sabah," Najib said.

Federal police chief Ismail Omar told reporters in an afternoon press conference near the standoff site that soldiers were mopping up across a wide area of hilly plantation country but had yet to find any dead militants.

"I have instructed my commanders to be on alert because we believe the enemies are still out there," Ismail said.

"We of course hope that they have not escaped," he said, providing few other details. However, he said Malaysian forces had suffered no casualties.

The Islamic intruders' apparent willingness to risk death over a long-dormant territorial dispute has shocked Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Jamalul Kiram III, 74, their self-proclaimed sultan, said Tuesday in Manila that incursion commanders, including his younger brother "and the many patriots who landed voluntarily will fight to the last man protecting their ideals and aspirations".

The group had been holed up in the village since landing by boat last month, highlighting lax Malaysian security and the continuing threat from southern Philippine Islamists.

Witnesses said fighter jets roared overhead early on Tuesday, followed by the thud of loud explosions.

Amid the assault, an AFP reporter at a roadblock 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Tanduo saw military transport helicopters flying toward the village, as army trucks with dozens of soldiers and several ambulances sped toward the scene.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino's spokesman blamed the intruders for the assault.

"We've done everything we could to prevent this, but in the end, Kiram's people chose this path," said the spokesman, Ricky Carandang.

After a lengthy standoff, violence erupted in Tanduo on Friday with a shootout that left 12 of the gunmen and two police officers dead.

Another gunbattle Saturday in the town of Semporna, hours away by road, killed six police and six gunmen, raising fears of a wider guerrilla infiltration.

Another gunman was reportedly beaten to death by Semporna residents.

Even if the Tanduo operation succeeds, the drama may not end there.

Police said at the weekend they were hunting for a group of "foreign" gunmen in yet another town, but have provided no further updates.

Followers of Kiram, the self-proclaimed heir to the sultanate of Sulu, have warned that more militants were poised to land in Sabah.

The sultanate, based in the southern Philippines' Sulu islands, once controlled parts of Borneo including Sabah.

Its power faded about a century ago but its heirs have continued to insist on ownership of resource-rich Sabah and still receive nominal Malaysian payments under a leasing deal originally struck by Western colonial powers.

The exact identities of the gunmen and their numbers have remained a mystery. Malaysia's opposition has criticised authorities for providing inadequate information on the mayhem and being caught flat-footed by the invaders.

Sabah has seen small raids by Islamic militants and criminals coming by boat from the Philippines before, but nothing on the current scale.

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Mission against Sulu militants not done, says IGP

LAHAD DATU,  It is not yet mission accomplished for the security forces in their operation against Sulu gunmen occupying Kampung Tanduo here as the militants are still holed up there, Tan Sri Ismail Omar said today.

The Inspector-General of Police also denied Philippine media reports of gunmen’s bodies being desecrated, or of casualties among the Malaysian security forces.

“I believe the enemies are still out there,” Ismail (picture) told reporters here today.

“We are still at the mopping and search stage. This is being done at a large area, about four square kilometres,” he added.

The armed forces launched air strikes at the followers of the Sulu sultanate hiding out at Kampung Tanduo early this morning, with five battalions sent in together with the police force.

The self-proclaimed Sulu royal family, however, has reportedly said that the militant group in the Sabah seaside village is still “alive & kicking”.

Ismail stressed that he had yet to receive reports of casualties among the southern Filipino gunmen in Kampung Tanduo that are estimated at 200.

“The security forces’ movements are rather slow now. Our priority is the safety of those who are on duty,” he said.

The top cop said earlier today that no Malaysian civilians or members of security forces were killed or injured in today’s assault against the Sulu militants.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said earlier there was no evidence that Malaysia-trained fighters from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) would join their Filipino Muslim militant counterparts in their battle to reclaim Sabah.

The Manila Bulletin today reported Hadji Acmad Bayam, a former chief propagandist of the separatist group, as saying that the MNLF had hidden an arsenal deep in Sabah’s rugged terrain before they returned home after their rigid training, adding he was confident the authorities would not be able to find the firearms.

Acmad was reported to have stayed in Sabah for nearly a decade, from 1976 to 1986, before yielding to then Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos.

The former militant leader told the Philippine paper that many of the seasoned rebel commanders and rank-and-file members had chosen to stay back in Sabah.

Most of them were from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and the Zamboanga peninsula on the Philippines south, he said, adding that the MNLF men also included those from Maguindanao, Irano and Maranao.

Philippine Star reported today that the Philippine police prevented almost 70 supporters of the Sulu sultanate from leaving Mindanao to join the militants here.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer also reported today that two search-and-rescue vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard are on stand-by to evacuate Filipinos in Sabah, following the clashes in three districts of eastern Sabah that have killed 28 – eight Malaysian policemen and 20 Filipino gunmen.

The Filipinos who invaded Lahad Datu on February 9 are led by a brother of self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who insists that Sabah belongs to Sulu based on colonial documents from the late 19th century.

Malaysia, however, says that the token annual payment of RM5,300 is given to the sultanate not as rent but for the sultanate to cede its rights over the land, which has been part of Malaysia for decades.

Some Sabahans have expressed anger at Filipinos whom they say are robbing them of job opportunities, while others have warned against stereotyping them.

More than a quarter of Sabah’s population are foreigners, totalling a staggering 889,000 of the 3.2 million-strong population, or about 28 per cent, based on a 2010 census.

There are about 800,000 Filipinos throughout Malaysia, most of whom are working in Sabah, according to Philippine media quoting government data.

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PENDUDUK PUKUL PENCEROBOH BERSENJATA M16 HINGGA MATI DI SEMPORNA

SEMPORNA, -- Puluhan penduduk bertindak memukul sehingga

mati lelaki bersenjata M16, yang dipercayai terlibat dalam serangan hendap yang
mengorbankan lima anggota polis, di Kampung Sri Jaya, Siminul, Semporna malam
tadi.

Bagaimanapun sehingga kini polis belum memberi pengesahan tentang identiti
lelaki itu.

Dalam insiden 7 pagi hari ini, seorang lelaki berbadan besar, berpakaian
serba hitam, memegang senjata M-16 dan berumur dalam lingkungan 50-an turun
daripada sebuah bukit dan melepaskan beberapa das tembakan ke arah sebuah surau
di Kampung Senallang Lama, Semporna di sini.

Seorang penduduk, Abdul Hani Samaullah, 44, berkata selepas melepaskan
tembakan lelaki itu turut menjerit di hening pagi bahawa "saya yang menembak
polis malam tadi".

"Lelaki itu kemudian membuka setiap pintu rumah penduduk dan mengarahkan
mereka berkumpul di satu kawasan lapang," katanya yang turut berkumpul bersama
penduduk di dalam keadaan ketakutan.

-- LAGI

CEROBOH-BUNUH 2 (AKHIR) SEMPORNA

Abdul Hani berkata penduduk menyerang lelaki terbabit apabila dia
bertinggung dan memasang api rokok serta meletakkan senjatanya.
Beliau berkata lelaki itu dipukul hingga mati dan mayatnya diletakkan
dekat dengan sebuah pokok di kampung itu.

Wartawan Bernama yang dalam perjalanan membuat liputan majlis perasmian
jambatan baharu oleh Menteri Kemajuan Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah Datuk
Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal di Kampung Nihak Nihak, pada 8.30 pagi iaitu 30 kilometer
daripada Kampung Senallang Lama, sempat melihat mayat lelaki itu dan mendapati
kepala lelaki itu berlumuran darah.

Kelihatan penduduk mengemas beg pakaian mereka dan mengosongkan rumah mereka
dengan membawa anggota keluarga, termasuk kanak-kanak dan wanita, untuk
melarikan diri ke kawasan kampung lain.

Kebanyakan penduduk adalah petani dan pekebun ladang kelapa sawit.
Cubaan Bernama untuk menghubungi Ketua Polis Daerah Semporna DSP Mohd
Firdaus Francis Abdullah untuk mendapatkan maklumat lanjut gagal.


-- BERNAMA

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