‘Manila feared Misuari would flee once deported’

A leaked US cable from 2001 highlighted the tug-of-war between Malaysia and the Philippines to wash their hands off Mindanao rebel Mur Misuari.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippines had hoped that it could force Malaysia to incarcerate former Muslim Mindanao governor Nur Misuari here in 2001 by linking him with terrorist group Abu Sayyaf and the kidnapping of 21 people from Sipadan island a year before.

To achieve this, Manila had shared intelligence on Misuari with Kuala Lumpur.

“A (Malaysian) foreign ministry contact said that Manila was now alerting Malaysian authorities to Misuari’s connections to Abu Sayyaf and the Sipadan kidnappings,” said a confidential US embassy cable to the US State Department in Washington on Nov 28, 2001.

The cable was leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks exclusively to FMT today.
US diplomats based in the US embassy here had named the Malaysian foreign embassy contact in the cable, stating that he was from the Southeast Asia Division of the ministry.

According to the cable, quoting the ministry official, Manila was feeding information to Malaysia “perhaps as a convenient way to keep Misuari incarcerated in Malaysia while the Malaysian police carry out what is sure to be a complex terrorism investigation”.

Misuari and six of his Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) followers were arrested by the Malaysian authorities on Nov 24, 2001 for trying to enter Sabah illegally.

They were fleeing southern Philippines after instigating a war between Manila and his armed supporters, resulting in as many as 200 people dead.

It was reported at that time that Malaysia was looking forward to send back Misuari to the Philippines as it did not want to handle Misuari and get involved in a complicated affair.

The Malaysian government had previously given refuge to Misuari and his followers during the Mindanao war in the 1970s. However, this time around prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ruled out political asylum.

“This is an internal matter of the Philippines and Malaysia should not interfere by providing refuge to rebels from other countries,” he was quoted as saying in Bernama then.

Manila not confident of getting conviction

The Phlippines, however, was keen to let Malaysia handle Misuari. The then Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was quick to point out Misuari’s alliance with Abu Sayyaf and the Sipadan kidnapping, hoping that this would prompt Malaysia to take action against Misuari.

“It’s not right to identify Misuari (with the) MNLF anymore. It’s better to identify him with the Abu Sayyaf,” she was quoted as saying in newspapers.

The confidential US cable noted that Malaysian officials were aware that the Philippine government was “talking out of both sides of its mouth”.

The cable noted that while Arroyo was hoping for Malaysia to handle the Misuari problem, her foreign ministry, however, was sending a different message to Malaysia – that his deportation would be requested following the completion of Mindanao elections where Misuari’s successor as governor is to be elected.
“The Philippine government fears that putting Misuari on trial for rebellion will not only cause a popular backlash, but may not result in conviction,” added the cable, quoting the Malaysian foreign ministry source.

“The Philippine government was not confident it could secure a conviction, and worried that Misuari may ultimately slip away,” it added.

Arroyo had hoped that a conviction in a Malaysian court would be a “safer and more effective method of keeping Misuari group behind bars”, the cable stated.

“Personally, I want him to stay in (a) Malaysian jail,” CNN had quoted Arroyo just days after Misuari’s arrest in Sabah.

Deported after 44 days
 
The Malaysian police at that time had acknowledged that Misuari and his followers were investigated for links with Abu Sayyaf and the Sipadan kidnapping, which included the abduction of two Malaysians in the group of 21.

However, Malaysian politicians, including the then deputy prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, then Sabah chief minister Chong Kah Kiat and then Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein had all called for Misuari to be deported immediately to the Philippines.

The cable also noted that Hishammuddin had admitted being a friend of Misuari.

The ping-pong battle over Misuari between Malaysia and the Philippines finally ended when he was deported on Jan 7, 2002 – 44 days after he was arrested off the coast of Sabah.
He was charged and jailed for rebellion in the Philippines and was released in 2009.