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By Al Jacinto, Correspondent
Zamboanga City: A senior Malaysian politician,
furious over a renewed Philippine claim to Sabah, have called for
stricter laws on Filipinos traveling to the oil-rich state.
Sabah Progressive Party President Datuk Yong
Teck Lee said Malaysia’s National Security Council (NSC) should
closely watch developments in the southern Philippines with the
collapse of the Moro peace deal and release of former rebel leader
Nur Misuari, Malaysia’s Star reported.
Lee said the withdrawal last month of the
Malaysian truce observers from Mindanao was a clear indication of
the failure of the peace process involving the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF).
“Further worries included the rumblings from
freed rebel Nur Misuari over the Philippines’ claim to Sabah and
the regrouping of the Moro National Liberation Front [MNLF],” the
Star said.
Misuari, who was ousted as MNLF chairman by
Muslimin Sema, MNLF’s secretary-general, wanted the International
Court of Justice to settle the Philippine claims on Sabah if
Malaysia fails to resolve the issue.
Lee said the NSC and the Sabah State Security
Committee should act on the problems brought about by the failure of
the peace process and Misuari’s revival of the Sabah claims.
“All these warrant the immediate attention of
the National Security Council in Putrajaya and the Sabah State
Security Committee,” he said.
He also urged Kuala Lumpur to suspend the ferry
service between Zamboanga and Sandakan. “Malaysia can also suspend
the Zamboanga-Sandakan ferry service, impose bonds on incoming
visitors, require ferry passengers to have return tickets and step
up enforcement at all levels of government,” he said.
The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo lays
claim to Sabah. The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled
over much of the islands off the Sulu Sea. It stretches from a part
of the island of Mindanao in the east, to North Borneo, now known as
Sabah, in the west and south and to Palawan in the north.
The Sultanate of Sulu was founded in 1457 and is
believed to have existed as a sovereign nation for at least 442
years. The Sultanate of Sulu obtained Sabah from Brunei as a gift
for helping put down a rebellion on Borneo Island.
The British leased Sabah and transferred control
over the territory to Malaysia after the end of the Second World
War. Even after Borneo became part of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur still
pays an annual rent of 5,000 ringgit to the heirs of the Sultan of
Sulu Ismail Kiram.
Misuari said what Malaysia pays to the Sultanate
of Sulu and North Borneo is but a pittance.
The MNLF, under Misuari, signed a peace deal
with Manila in September 1996, ending more than three decades of
bloody fighting in Mindanao. It also accepted a limited autonomy
over four Muslim provinces, namely, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur
and Maguindanao, that were later expanded into five provinces with
Basilan as an addition, and now has become six with the inclusion of
Shariff Kabunsuan.
Misuari later became governor of the Muslim
autonomous region, but later accused the government of failing to
honor the peace agreement, and his forces attacked major military
bases and held hostage civilians in Sulu province and Zamboanga City
in November 2001.
He fled to Sabah, his former refuge, but was
arrested by Malaysian authorities and sent back to Manila where he
is now facing rebellion charges and currently out on bail.
Sema said the issue on Sabah has been a long
irritant between the Philippines and Malaysia, and he appealed to
Misuari not to use this to stir restlessness among local Muslims in
Mindanao.
“This has been a very old issue and we don’t
want to strain our good relations with Malaysia at the expense of
everybody. The Philippines has in the past approached this old issue
with diplomacy and respect to maintain good bilateral relations with
Malaysia and we want this to continue,” Sema told The Manila
Times.
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