Hopes for Sabah under Anwar?

THE news about Anwar Ibrahim finally becoming the 10th Malaysian prime minister after a long, heroic struggle, and Mahathir Mohamad being dealt a most devastating defeat after serving as Malaysia's longest sitting prime minister, has gladdened many Filipinos who have long supported Anwar as a patriot, a devotee of our national hero Jose Rizal, and a dear personal friend to many of our political leaders, academics and intellectuals. Like President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada and many others, I count myself as one such friend.

Anwar's victory raises great hopes for us. Among these is the hope that Malaysia and the Philippines can begin talking again how to resolve their territorial dispute over Sabah, which was incorporated into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, over the Philippine legal claim that it is part of its own domain.