At least 10 reportedly killed in clashes in Malaysian territory occupied by armed clan from the Philippines.
A Filipino clan leader who occupied a Malaysian village in the territory of Sabah with nearly 200 followers, has said the Malaysian police opened fired at them, reportedly killing at least 10 of its members.
Raja Muda Abimuddin Kiram, leader of the armed group, told Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan on Saturday that authorities fired at them in an apparent bid to end the three-week stand-off that threatens to complicate the relations between the two countries.
Our correspondent said she "could hear gunshots [in] the background" when she talked to Kiram on the phone.
Raul Hernandez, spokesman for the Philippines foreign ministry, confirmed the incident but did not elaborate on the reported Filipino fatalities.
Hernandez, however, said two Malaysian police officers were killed and another one wounded, after their vehicle were reportedly fired upon by the Kiram group.
"The ambassador said that the stand-off is now over," Hernandez said refering to Datu Mohd Zamri, Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines, who met Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario.
Malaysian warning
In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the armed Filipino clan should leave the area as soon as possible, according to the Bernama state news agency.
"We will not let this issue to prolong," he said. "We will do what it takes to defend the sovereignty of our country."
Members of a Muslim royal clan who call themselves the Royal Sulu Army from southern Philippines landed in a coastal village in Sabah on February 9 to claim the territory as their own, citing ownership documents from the late 1800s.
They ignored appeals from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to leave immediately or face prosecution at home on charges of triggering armed conflict.
The group claimed that they made the decision to occupy the Sabah village in protest at the Philippine government's continued indifference to their claim.
Mar Roxas, the Philippine interior secretary, said that according to the Philippine police attaché in Malaysia, the police in Sabah fired warning shots. Roxas had no reports of any casualties.
Aquino urged on Tuesday Kiram's brother in the Philippine province of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, to order his followers to return home and called their action a "foolhardy act'' that was bound to fail.
Peace negotiations
The stand-off elevated the Sabah territorial issue, which has been a thorn in the Philippine-Malaysian relations for decades, to a Philippine national security concern.
The crisis erupted at a crucial stage of peace negotiations, arranged by Malaysia between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines.
Aquino has said that the standoff may have been an attempt to undermine his government on the part of those opposing the peace deal, including politicians and warlords who fear being left out in any power sharing arrangements.
The Malaysian government continues to pay the Kiram clan of Sulu a supposed annual rent of $1,500 for the use of more than 73,000sq km of land Sabah.
The Philippines this week sent a navy ship with social and medical workers off Lahad Datu while trying to persuade the Filipinos to return home.
Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies
Raja Muda Abimuddin Kiram, leader of the armed group, told Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan on Saturday that authorities fired at them in an apparent bid to end the three-week stand-off that threatens to complicate the relations between the two countries.
Our correspondent said she "could hear gunshots [in] the background" when she talked to Kiram on the phone.
Raul Hernandez, spokesman for the Philippines foreign ministry, confirmed the incident but did not elaborate on the reported Filipino fatalities.
Hernandez, however, said two Malaysian police officers were killed and another one wounded, after their vehicle were reportedly fired upon by the Kiram group.
"The ambassador said that the stand-off is now over," Hernandez said refering to Datu Mohd Zamri, Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines, who met Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario.
Malaysian warning
In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the armed Filipino clan should leave the area as soon as possible, according to the Bernama state news agency.
"We will not let this issue to prolong," he said. "We will do what it takes to defend the sovereignty of our country."
Members of a Muslim royal clan who call themselves the Royal Sulu Army from southern Philippines landed in a coastal village in Sabah on February 9 to claim the territory as their own, citing ownership documents from the late 1800s.
They ignored appeals from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to leave immediately or face prosecution at home on charges of triggering armed conflict.
The group claimed that they made the decision to occupy the Sabah village in protest at the Philippine government's continued indifference to their claim.
Mar Roxas, the Philippine interior secretary, said that according to the Philippine police attaché in Malaysia, the police in Sabah fired warning shots. Roxas had no reports of any casualties.
Aquino urged on Tuesday Kiram's brother in the Philippine province of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, to order his followers to return home and called their action a "foolhardy act'' that was bound to fail.
Peace negotiations
The stand-off elevated the Sabah territorial issue, which has been a thorn in the Philippine-Malaysian relations for decades, to a Philippine national security concern.
The crisis erupted at a crucial stage of peace negotiations, arranged by Malaysia between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines.
Aquino has said that the standoff may have been an attempt to undermine his government on the part of those opposing the peace deal, including politicians and warlords who fear being left out in any power sharing arrangements.
The Malaysian government continues to pay the Kiram clan of Sulu a supposed annual rent of $1,500 for the use of more than 73,000sq km of land Sabah.
The Philippines this week sent a navy ship with social and medical workers off Lahad Datu while trying to persuade the Filipinos to return home.
Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies
29 comments:
Portal The Philippine Daily Inquirer pula melaporkan jurucakap Kementerian Hubungan Luar Filipina Raul Hernandez hari ini berkata Duta Malaysia Mohammad Zamri Mohammad Kassim telah bertemu dengan pihak Setiausaha Kementerian Hubungan Luar Albert Del Rosario di Manila untuk memaklumkan perkara itu.
Hernandez dilaporkan berkata kerajaan Filipina masih lagi perlu mengesahkan kenyataan jurucakap penceroboh berkenaan bahawa 10 anggotanya terbunuh.
Dianggarkan 180 pemberontak Filipina, termasuk 30 lelaki bersenjata menceroboh Sabah pada 9 Februari lalu dan enggan beredar, walaupun telah diarahkan oleh kedua-dua kerajaan Malaysia dan Filipina.
Reuters turut melaporkan kumpulan bersenjata tersebut menuntut pengiktirafan Malaysia dan rundingan awal pajakan Sabah oleh Sultan kepada syarikat perdagangan British pada kurun ke-19.
Malaysia bagaimanapun berkata permintaan mereka tidak akan dapat ditunaikan.
The stand-off elevated the Sabah territorial issue, which has been a thorn in the Philippine-Malaysian relations for decades, to a Philippine national security concern.
The group claimed that they made the decision to occupy the Sabah village in protest at the Philippine government's continued indifference to their claim. However, Hernandez reportedly said the Philippine government will still have to verify the intruder.
Armed groups demanding recognition and early consultation lease Malaysia Sabah by the Sultan to the British trade in the 19th century.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer Portal reported that the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said today that Malaysia's Ambassador Mohammad Kassim Mohammad Zamri met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario in Manila to get informed.
30 armed men invaded Sabah on 9 February and refused to leave, although it has been directed by both the governments of Malaysia and the Philippines.
The armed intruders in Sabah had used a white flag as a ruse to open fire on Malaysian police commandos yesterday in the incident in Kampung Tanduo, 130km from Lahad Datu, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said he learned this from one of the VAT 69 police commandos, and described it a cowardly act.
“The two slain commandos had seen the white flag and did not think that there would be other intruders waiting to open fire on them.
“I do not rule out the possibility that it was a trap by the intruders. If they had resorted to such a tactic, it was a act of cowards,” he told reporters after paying his last respects to the two slain commandos at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang near here.
In Lahad Datu, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar dismissed a foreign media report that 10 of the intruders surrendered to the security forces on Friday.
The intruders had attempted to get out of Kampung Tanduo but stumbled upon the security forces and opened fire, triggering the shootout, he said when he visited General Operations Force personnel at their base at Felda Sahabat 16.
Kerajaan tidak pernah cuba menyembunyikan sebarang maklumat berkaitan insiden pencerobohan bersenjata di Lahad Datu dan kawasan berhampiran di Sabah, kata Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Sebaliknya, Perdana Menteri berkata, kerajaan mengambil sedikit masa untuk mendapatkan maklumat lengkap tentang perkembangan sesuatu kejadian di negeri itu sebelum menyalurkannya kepada umum.
"Bukan nak tutup dan tak nak beritahu rakyat. Kita kena beritahu gambaran tepat dan jelas. Kita tak nak beri maklumat terburu-buru.
"Takut nanti kita disalahkan dan dituduh cuba menakut-nakutkan rakyat Kita tunggu gambaran sebenar. Saya dah arahkan Ketua Polis Negara dan Panglima Angkatan Tentera buat kenyataan (bila ada maklumat)," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Kampus Induk Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) di Pauh, dekat sini, hari ini.
Najib berkata, beliau percaya rakyat faham dan yakin, kerajaan berada pada pihak yang benar.
Yang orang-orang sulu ni pun kenapa lah kena suruh balik bagus-bagus tak dengar cakap.
Sekarang pertumpahan darah dah berlaku jadi makin teruklah keadaan sebab masing-masing pun panas hati!
JASA minta media maya tidak siar komen negatif isu Lahad Datu
Media maya dinasihat supaya tidak sewenang-wenang memberi ruang kepada komen-komen tidak bertanggungjawab berhubung kes pencerobohan di Lahad Datu, Sabah bagi mengelak ia disalah tafsir.
Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas (JASA), Datuk Fuad Tan Sri Hassan berkata tindakan beberapa portal maya yang menyiarkan komen negatif yang menunjukkan kelemahan kerajaan, amat dikesali dalam suasana negara sedang menghadapi isu kritikal seperti itu.
"Di saat negara menghadapi kemelut membabitkan keselamatan seperti ini, semangat patriotik adalah lebih penting daripada membiarkan rakyat membuat tafsiran serta andaian negatif terhadap isu yang sedang berlaku di Lahad Datu," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan mesyuarat agung Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Keramat di sini hari ini.
Fuad berkata demikian sebagai mengulas beberapa portal maya dan blog yang menyiarkan komen tidak bertanggungjawab antaranya menganggap kes di Lahad Datu sebagai satu sandiwara politik kerajaan.
JASA minta media maya tidak siar komen negatif isu Lahad Datu
Beliau juga turut menasihati rakyat supaya memilih sumber rasmi saja untuk mengikuti perkembangan kes tersebut dan mengelak dari memilih pelbagai sumber yang belum tentu kesahihannya, serta mengelak daripada membuat pelbagai andaian.
"Isu di Lahad Datu adalah isu keselamatan dan bukannya isu politik. Ia membabitkan persempadanan yang luas, perairan yang terbuka dan sejarah rumit yang tidak akan difahami oleh orang di luar Sabah.
"Ia perlu ditangani dengan teliti dan berhati-hati agar tidak membabitkan pertumpahan darah. Sehubungan itu rakyat negara ini perlu memberi kepercayaan kepada pihak keselamatan menangani isu berkenaan dengan sebaiknya berbanding membuat kupasan yang mengikut anggapan sendiri berdasarkan sumber yang tidak sahih," katanya.
Fuad berkata rakyat perlu memberi kepercayaan kepada pasukan keselamatan dan membiarkan mereka melakukan yang terbaik untuk menyelesaikan perkara itu dan mengembalikan keamanan di sana. - BERNAMA
Banyak khabar angin tentang serangan kena post di FB. Ada yang cakap sinsuran, Kunak juga tegang. Harap-harap pihak berkuasa dapat mengawal semuanya,
serangan besar besaran dah dijalankan, moga ia akan berakhir
Sabah adalah milik Malaysia yang sah mengikut undang-undang antarabangsa dan tidak boleh dituntut pihak lain termasuk kumpulan pengganas yang mendakwa tentera Sultan Sulu.
Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, berkata hak ke atas Sabah yang dulu dikenali Borneo Utara, diperoleh Syarikat Overback pada 1880-an daripada Kesultanan Sulu.
“Apabila Overback serahkan hak milik itu kepada Britain dan seterusnya diserahkan kepada Malaysia, maka segala hak mereka lupus mengikut undang-undang antarabangsa. Apa yang dibayar kepada kerabat Sultan Sulu, iaitu kira-kira RM5,000 setahun hanya wang ehsan atau sagu hati.
“Ia dibayar kepada kerabat yang didaftarkan sebagai pewaris Sultan Sulu yang disahkan Sultan Brunei dulu, bukan pihak yang menceroboh Sabah ketika ini,” katanya.
Sambil meminta Wisma Putra membuat penjelasan mengenai perkara itu secara mendalam, beliau juga menjelaskan, Sabah menyertai Malaysia secara sah berdasarkan keputusan Suruhanjaya Cobbold pada 1963 yang mendapati semua pihak di negeri itu bersetuju.
“Keputusan suruhanjaya itu menunjukkan rakyat Sabah mahu menyertai Malaysia. Jadi jelas, Sabah sah hak Malaysia dan tidak boleh dituntut mana-mana pihak atau negara lain,” katanya.
Mengikut laman web Arkib Negara, pembentukan Suruhanjaya Cobbold pada 17 Januari 1962 bagi memberi kebebasan dan keadilan kepada semua pihak.
Suruhanjaya itu dibentuk hasil rundingan di antara Kerajaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dan Kerajaan Britain pada November 1961.
Tujuan penubuhan suruhanjaya itu untuk meninjau pandangan penduduk di Borneo Utara (Sabah) dan Sarawak mengenai gagasan Malaysia.
Hasil laporan suruhanjaya yang disahkan perwakilan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) menunjukkan 80 peratus penduduk Sabah dan Sarawak menyokong penubuhan Malaysia yang kemudian diisytiharkan pada 16 September 1963.
Post a Comment