‘Where did the Sultan get money from?’

The former premier says that 'some people' would think an invasion would be beneficial to them.

PETALING JAYA: How did a poor man like the Sultan of Sulu amass enough money to mount an armed incursion into a foreign country?

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad posed this question today when asked to respond to claims of a third party’s possible involvement in the Royal Sulu Army’s attacks on Sabah.

“The question is this: all operations cost money. If you are completely bankrupt I don’t think you can mount an invasion. So where does the money come from?” he asked.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had previously said in an interview that Philippine President Benigno Aquino had informed him that the people behind the Lahad Datu attacks were quite poor.

“They certainly don’t have the means to launch such an operation against Malaysia and, therefore, he thinks they are funded from somewhere,” Najib had said on the “Conversation with the PM” programme aired on TV3.

Mahathir suggested today that “some people” would think an invasion would somehow benefit them, although he stopped short of naming them.

“This is a question I personally want to ask and I think the police want to know where the money has come from,” he added.

The Philippine media as well as international news agency Reuters had linked the army’s incursion to a politician allied to the Malaysian opposition.

Citing the international media as sources, Barisan Nasional-owned media such as TV3 and Utusan had reported that Anwar Ibrahim was behind the armed attacks.

The opposition leader denied the claims and sued both media for defamation.

However, Anwar reportedly refused to sue either the Philippine Daily Inquirer or Reuters on the grounds that they had not named him in their reports.

Meanwhile, Najib had ordered an investigation into the allegations, although he said sufficient evidence was needed “before we point a finger at anyone”.

Yesterday, PKR vice-president Tian Chua was charged with sedition for allegedly accusing Umno of being behind the Lahad Datu incursion.

‘Defensive war not a crime’

Meanwhile, Mahathir also insisted that Malaysia’s attacks against the Sulu army was not a crime, amidst international criticism that the country committed “crimes against humanity”.

“The Perdana Global Peace Foundation is about making war a crime. But of course a defensive war cannot be regarded as a crime,” said Mahathir, referring to the organisation he was representing today.

“We are not invading anybody, we are defending our country and even if there are loss of lives on both sides… we have to accept it because we have a legitimate right to defend our country,” he added.

He said he also supported the idea of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the invasion.

Mahathir, who is Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) president, presented a cheque of RM80,000 to the police’s welfare department at Yayasan Al-Bukhary.