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The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is reviving efforts to
reclaim Sabah by filing a petition before the International Court of
Justice, a move seen by many as potentially affecting the peace
process in Mindanao.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said
MNLF’s initiative is “a demolition job” on Malaysia which is
brokering the peace talks between the MILF and the government.
Former MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari, together with
Abdullah Kiram, one of the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate, said he will
file a petition before the international court to get back Sabah, a
mineral-rich island that accounts for almost 50 percent of
Malaysia’s gross domestic product.
But according to Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of
the MILF, pursuing the Sabah claim is “an issue too hot to handle
and could boomerang on his [Misuari’s] leadership.”
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said
the government is not aware of Misuari’s plan nor is it supportive
of the Sabah claim revival.
“It should be the government [that should] run
after Sabah, and that is not at the top of our agenda right now,”
Gonzales said in an interview.
Misuari clarified that he is not out to wage war
on Malaysia and that he is simply exhausting all legal avenues to
settle the Sabah issue peacefully.
“We are not after war, so we will convince the
Malaysian government for the sake of peace,” Misuari said during
the second Mindanao Leadership Summit earlier this week that was
attended by over 10,000 MNLF combatants and members.
-- Angelo S. Samonte
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