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By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has
allegedly struck a deal with Malaysia over Sabah, and that’s why
the rebel group is silent on the claim issue, a high-ranking Palace
official said.
This is supposedly the reason why the MILF wants
Malaysia to remain as the head of the international monitoring team
overseeing the ceasefire agreement with the government, the official
who requested anonymity said.
The source added that Malaysia has been
pressuring the Philippine government into resuming the peace talks
despite the “unconstitutional” demands of the MILF for its
future homeland in Mindanao, because of the alleged agreement on
Sabah.
“The MILF has never included Sabah in its
ancestral domain claim when they are in the position to do so. It is
in their [Malaysia’s] best interest to make sure the MILF gets
what they want to silence any claims on Sabah from the
Philippines,” added the source, who has been involved in the peace
process in various capacities.
MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal earlier
admitted that his group has been “silent” on the Sabah claim
“out of respect” to Malaysia, which has claimed the territory as
one of its 13 states.
“Never for a single moment did we talk about
that [Sabah claim],” Iqbal added. “With Malaysia as facilitator,
it is only practical for us not to bring that up or include Sabah in
our proposed homeland.”
“We are silent on the issue. We never said it
belongs to the Bangsamoro people just as we never said it does not
belong to us. It is a non-issue for us at this point,” the MILF
official added.
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur
Misuari said last week that they will revive efforts to reclaim the
contested state of Sabah.
But the MILF said the move is “a demolition
job” on Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks between their
group and the Philippine government.
Misuari, together with Abdullah Kiram, one of
the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate, said he will file a petition before
the International Court of Justice to get back Sabah, a mineral-rich
part of Borneo Island that accounts for almost 50 percent of
Malaysia’s gross domestic product.
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