Defence of the country’s sovereignty is the duty of all Malaysians who love the country. National defence is not something that most people wear on their sleeves. However, this duty extends beyond the physical defence of the country, which is the job of the armed forces.
It should and must include speaking up when things are not right. This is something that we as a people have not done for so many years, having left that to our elected representatives in parliament.
However, the Lahad Datu Invasion weighs heavy on my mind, as it does that of many, many concerned Malaysians. This is not to denigrate nor trivialise the sacrifices made by our armed forces. The dangers are real. Bombs and bullets do fly.
Unfortunately, people do get killed. As a country, it is only right that we close ranks to face the enemy. But, the big question is, “Who is the enemy?”
Is it the ragtag group of armed insurgents? Or is there a hidden hand here? Have you ever thought of the ridiculousness and implausibility of the situation? A group of 200 odd foreign armed men, landed on Malaysian soil with women and children in tow.
Their announced purpose is to speak and negotiate with an important Malaysian on claiming back land that they say belongs to them. In history, how many wars have been declared by an impoverished “sultanate” that can hardly make ends meet on a bigger, much better equipped neighbour?
And they have to cross the Sulu sea in small boats to do it. The last time an armada crossed the sea to attack another country was when Britain sent a naval task force to the Falklands. Notice it was not Argentina sending their people on small boats to Great Britain?
Who in their right mind would go for a negotiation armed to the teeth with guns especially when the enemy is bigger, stronger, better armed and have the home ground advantage?
STAN CH LEE is a Malaysian at heart in Toronto. He used to express himself mainly through drawings and pictures, but discovered that some things are better said in words.
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Datuk Seri Najib Razak has described the intrusion by Sulu terrorists in Lahad Datu as a wake-up call not only for the government but also for the people especially in Sabah on the need to be better prepared to face external threats.
Saying that the government would not take security for granted, the prime minister said no effort would be spared to ensure that the security forces were well-trained, well-equipped and prepared to deal with incidents of this nature.
“I think we’ve gone through a long phase of peace and stability in Malaysia. The communist (terrorists) laid down their arms in 1989 and since then it has been a long period of peace and stability in Malaysia.
“That (attack on Lahad Datu and Semporna) is an external threat and we must deal with it. So, when we decide to spend on defence and security, people should not question it. They should see it as protecting our security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Stressing that the government would not compromise when it came to Malaysia’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Najib said: “We must do whatever we can to ensure that Malaysians anywhere, in any part of Malaysia, feel secure, safe and their future safeguarded by the government.”
Semua pihak perlu melihat keputusan rasmi untuk melancarkan serangan ke atas penceroboh bersama kekuatan PDRM dan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia bukanlah tindakan semberono, sebaliknya tindakan ini dilancar semata-mata menunjukkan betapa kepimpinan YAB Datuk Seri Mohd Najib serius untuk tidak membiarkan kedaulatan dan keamanan negara tergugat oleh sesiapapun!
Bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi menyifatkan Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13) sebagai 'pilihan raya orang muda' dan golongan itu bakal menjadi penentu kemenangan Barisan Nasional (BN).
Abdullah berkata beliau percaya senario itu secara tidak langsung akan membantu BN untuk menang kerana kecenderungan pengundi muda ketika ini dilihat sudah kembali menyokong parti tersebut.
Jumlah pengundi muda yang semakin meningkat sekarang ini akan menjadikan suara kumpulan itu sebagai penentu kemenangan BN pada PRU-13 nanti.
Abdullah yang juga Anggota Parlimen Kepala Batas berkata beliau yakin pengundi muda di kawasan itu akan memihak kepada BN pada PRU-13.
Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad berkata, beliau yakin suasana politik sekarang adalah lebih baik bagi Barisan Nasional (BN) berbanding semasa pilihan raya umum pada 2008.
pelbagai pendekatan baharu yang dijalankan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak semakin diterima rakyat.
FORMER DAP vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim said the opposition coalition's manifesto is just another list of promises that will not be fulfilled.
"Those who believe and rely on those promises will be left disappointed," he said, adding that the nature of the manifesto only prove that the opposition do not have the experience to govern a nation.
"If Pakatan Rakyat leaders had any experience in their hands, they would realise that their promises cannot be delivered."
Experience, Tunku Aziz said, cannot be replaced by expectations or promises.
He added that the opposition leaders should be a little more modest and learn more before beginning to make such promises to the people.
Tunku Aziz called on the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to investigate the "technical glitch" that happened during the DAP central executive committee elections in Penang in November last year.
He said if DAP leaders were good and responsible, they would voluntarily step down while the RoS investigated the matter.
Now, we see the flaws of the DAP system. The convention in Penang made it very clear."
Pencerobohan kumpulan bersenjata dari Selatan Filipina di Sabah membuka mata masyarakat bahawa tanggungjawab menjaga keamanan dan mempertahankan kedaulatan negara melibatkan seluruh rakyat Malaysia.
Insiden berdarah yang menyebabkan lapan anggota pasukan keselamatan negara terkorban itu menyemarakkan semangat patriotik dalam kalangan rakyat, tanpa mengira agama, bangsa dan fahaman politik.
Reaksi pelbagai pihak menerusi laman sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter dan blog antaranya meluahkan rasa marah dengan kumpulan penceroboh sehingga ada antara mereka yang menawarkan diri untuk menyertai Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) dengan serta-merta dan bersama-sama berjuang mempertahankan kedaulatan negara.
Meskipun ada pihak yang menuduh isu pencerobohan itu sandiwara kerajaan yang ditunjangi Umno, rakyat termasuk penyokong parti pembangkang, mengutuk serangan kejam pengganas terbabit dan mahu semua pihak tidak mempolitikkan perkara berkenaan serta menggesa rakyat bersatu padu mempertahankan Malaysia.
Rakyat sedar betapa perlunya Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara berdaulat, dipertahankan daripada anasir jahat yang menggugat keharmonian semua kaum dan kestabilan negara.
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada Khamis lepas memberi keyakinan kepada rakyat di Sabah bahawa kerajaan pimpinannya akan melakukan apa sahaja untuk menjamin keselamatan, keamanan dan kedaulatan Negeri di Bawah Bayu.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
The joining of Sabah in the formation of Malaysia in 1963 eliminates any claim on the state, previously known as North Borneo, said a professor from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Assoc Professor Dr Bilcher Bala. as such, any claims made on Sabah today was invalid.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
“The formation of Malaysia in 1963 eliminates any claim on Sabah. In 1888 Sabah became a British protectorate and under a 1903 protocol, the Philippines came under the control of the United States, but without Sabah included. “In 1946 Sabah was handed over completely to the British and in 1963 it became part of Malaysia,” he said.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
Hence, he said, the action by Jamalul Kiram III in attacking Sabah, purportedly to claim the heritage of the Sulu sultanate, was a crime which could be regarded a terrorist attack.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
On the payment by the Malaysian government to the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate, he said it was just a compensation payment or gift for a 1787 “lease permanent” agreement. Hence, the payment had to be made until death (the term used in the agreement is for as long as there is the moon and stars), he added.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
Bilcher said the people of Sabah chose to be with Malaysia as contained in the Cobbold Report. “Only the Sulu Sultan regarded the Sabah people as his, but the Sabah people did not recognise the Sultan, except the Governor (now known as the Yang Dipertua Negeri).
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
“Therefore, the claim that he is the heir of the Sulu Sultanate, even if the Sultan exists, on Sabah is void because of the various agreements. “The fact is, Sulu does not have a government or a country to warrant it the right to make any claim. The claim is just by an individual,” he added.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
In KUALA LUMPUR, former foreign minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, commenting on the issue, said that the payment of about RM5,000 a year by the Malaysian government to the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate until today was not lease payment, but cession payment.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
He claimed to have seen a cheque for the amount paid to the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate when he was foreign minister from 1999 to 2008. “The cession payment is like the payment made by the Penang government to the Kedah Sultan when the island was given to the British,” he added.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
He also said that the self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan could not bring his claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “The ICJ only handles cases involving a government which is recognised, The Sulu Sultanate is not a government,” he added.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
He said the administration and governance of the Sulu Sultanate ended when Sultan Jamalul Kiram II signed the Carpenter Agreement in 1915 with the United States of America, which controlled the Philippines then.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
Syed Hamid said the Philippines did make its claim over Sabah at a time when Malaysia and Indonesia were staking their claim over Sipadan and Ligatan at the ICJ in 2001. “The Philippines tried to join in the claim. However, ICJ rejected Philippines’ intervention in the claim over Sipadan and Ligitan which are in Sabah waters. “This clearly showed that the Philippines has no right on the state,” he added.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
Syed Hamid said Sabah was a sovereign entity under Malaysia because a report by the Cobbold Commission, set up prior to the formation of Malaysia, stated that the people of Sabah and Sarawak wanted to be independent as part of Malaysia.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
Meanwhile, historian Professor Dr Ramlah Adam expressed confidence of the government having the documents on the agreement on the cession money. She said the agreement stated that the payment was to be made to the heirs and not the Sulu Sultanate. “It is money for the heirs, not the sultanate. The Sulu Sultanate no longer exists,” she added.
INSIDEN PENCEROBOHAN DI LAHAD DATU MEMBERI KESEDARAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT DUNIA TENTANG PENTINGNYA MEMPELAJARI SEJARAH
Meanwhile, historian Professor Dr Ramlah Adam expressed confidence of the government having the documents on the agreement on the cession money. She said the agreement stated that the payment was to be made to the heirs and not the Sulu Sultanate. “It is money for the heirs, not the sultanate. The Sulu Sultanate no longer exists,” she added.
Pencerobohan di Lahad Datu disifatkan sebagai peristiwa yang bukan sahaja membuka mata kerajaan, tetapi juga seluruh rakyat tentang betapa pentingnya meningkatkan persiapan untuk menghadapi ancaman luar, menurut Najib.
Kerajaan tidak akan memandang ringan tentang keselamatan negara dan segala usaha akan dilakukan untuk memastikan pasukan keselamatan diberi latihan yang sebaik mungkin, dilengkapi peralatan lebih canggih dan sentiasa bersedia untuk menangani sebarang kemungkinan seperti itu.
Najib menyatakan rakyat telah menikmati suasana aman dan stabil yang begitu lama di Malaysia, komunis telah meletak senjata pada 1989 dan sejak itu Malaysia dilimpahi suasana aman dan stabil dalam tempoh yang cukup panjang.
Kejadian pencerobohan itu merupakan ancaman luar dan kita perlu menanganinya. Jadi, sekiranya membuat keputusan menambah perbelanjaan untuk pertahanan dan keselamatan, janganlah rakyat mempertikaikannya pula.
“Mereka perlu melihatnya sebagai langkah untuk melindungi keselamatan, kedaulatan dan integriti wilayah kita,” katanya.
Sambil menegaskan bahawa kerajaan tidak akan berkompromi tentang keselamatan, kedaulatan dan integriti wilayah Malaysia, perdana menteri berkata:
“Kita perlu berusaha sedaya upaya untuk memastikan rakyat Malaysia, tanpa mengira di mana mereka berada di negara ini, berasa selamat, terjamin dan masa depan mereka juga dipelihara oleh kerajaan.”
Najib seterusnya menegaskan bahawa usaha menjamin keselamatan negara bukan sahaja menjadi tanggungjawab pasukan keselamatan dan kerajaan, tetapi juga semua rakyat Malaysia melalui peranan masing-masing, termasuk memberi sokongan kepada kerajaan.
Bagaimanapun, Perdana Menteri memberi jaminan bahawa Malaysia memiliki kemampuan dan aset yang mencukupi untuk melindungi keselamatannya.
“Saya rasa, untuk menangani pencerobohan bersenjata, kita memiliki aset yang diperlukan, tapi, seperti yang saya nyatakan tadi, peristiwa ini membuka mata kita, di mana terdapat jurang dari segi kemampuan kita, dan kita harap akan dapat merapatkan jurang ini,” kata Najib.
Beliau berkata memandangkan timur Sabah mempunyai lantai laut sepanjang lebih 1,000 km, maka negeri itu menghadapi “cabaran besar” dari segi keselamatan dan sejajar dengan itu, langkah lebih ketat perlu diambil.
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