Priest abuse victims' group blacklists 12 cardinals for pope

Archbishops (purple hats) and cardinals (red hats) sit in St Peter's Square on February 27 in Vatican City

Rome (CNN) -- A group representing survivors of sexual abuse by priests named a "Dirty Dozen" list of cardinals it said would be the worst candidates for pope based on their handling of child sex abuse claims or their public comments about the cases.

The list names three U.S. Roman Catholic cardinals and nine from other countries.

Watch for the smoke: How is a new pope elected?

SNAP, the Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, said as it released the list Wednesday that its accusations were based on media reports, legal filings and victims' statements.

A representative for one of the cardinals on list dismissed the group. The remaining cardinals or their representatives couldn't be immediately reached by CNN for comment Wednesday.

"I'm not going to respond to this group which has little to no credibility," said Joseph Zwelling, a spokesman for Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

When asked about the SNAP list, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a spokesman for the Vatican, told CNN: "We believe it is not up to SNAP to decide who comes to conclave and who is chosen. ... cardinals can decide themselves without asking SNAP for advice."

Lombardi and another Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, read the SNAP press release together, Rosica said. Lombardi declined to comment further.

The two other U.S. cardinals on the list are Sean O'Malley of Boston and Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., the group said.

The others listed are Leonardo Sandri of Argentina, George Pell of Australia, Marc Ouellet of Canada, Dominik Duka or the Czech Republic, Peter Turkson of Ghana, Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, Tarcisio Bertone and Angelo Scola of Italy, and Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico, the group said.

Not all of them are linked to alleged coverups of sexual abuse, SNAP said. Some were placed on the list because of their public remarks related to the abuse scandal, SNAP said.

On Monday, SNAP also called for some of the older cardinals to remove themselves from the meetings held before the election of the new pope, arguing that some have been accused of complicity in protecting priests accused of sexually abusing children.

Cardinals from around the globe have been summoned to Rome to take part in the process of choosing the next pontiff, after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI last week.

As of midday, 113 of the 115 cardinals eligible to elect the new pope are in Rome, according to Lombardi. To be eligible to be a part of the group, a cardinal must be under the age of 80.

The two cardinal-electors who are not yet there are Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, who was due to arrive later Wednesday, and Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Vietnam, who is arriving Thursday.

Interactive: A look at possible papal contenders

No date has yet been proposed for the secret election, or conclave, to select the former pontiff's successor.

Meanwhile, a new study says American Catholics view sex abuse by clergy as the most important problem facing the church today, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

When asked to put in their own words what's the most pressing issue facing their church, 34% of the U.S. Catholics questioned cite pedophilia, sex abuse or another phrase for the same problem, Pew said. No other problem received a more than 10% response; the next biggest issue named is low trust and low credibility, at 9%, Pew said.

'Silence didn't work'

SNAP is intentionally focusing on candidates with a realistic chance of being named pope, its executive director David Clohessy said Wednesday as the group released its list.

"The single quickest and most effective step would be for the next pope to clearly discipline, demote, denounce and even defrock cardinals and bishops who are concealing child sex crimes. We think that's the missing piece," he said.

The new pope should order each bishop around the world to hand over "every piece of paper he has on proven, admitted or credibly accused child-molesting clerics to law enforcement," Clohessy said.

Barbara Dorris, victims' outreach director for SNAP, said: "The short answer is we've tried silence, silence didn't work, so we have to speak out. We have to do everything we can to get this information out there."

The Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of child sex abuse scandals in recent years -- and the new pope will be under pressure to deal more effectively with a crisis that has shaken public confidence in the church.

SNAP says it's vital to look at how the world's bishops have handled claims of abuse by priests because the crisis is far from over.

"This scandal, we believe, has yet to surface in most nations. It's shameless spin and deliberate deception to claim otherwise. It's tempting to reassure the public and the parishioners by making this claim. But it's also irresponsible," a statement on SNAP's website said.

"Clergy sex crimes and coverups remain deeply hidden in the vast majority of nations (where most Catholics live), and has really only become widely known -- and barely addressed -- in the U.S. about a decade ago and in a few European countries even more recently."

What's in a name? Clues to be found in next pope's moniker

Media leaks concern

A news conference scheduled by American cardinals for Wednesday, following media briefings on Monday and Tuesday, was canceled at short notice.

Asked if the Vatican had told the American cardinals to stop their daily media briefings, Vatican spokesman Rosica suggested that the details of what was discussed in the general congregations were not meant to be publicized.

"It's not up to Father Lombardi or myself to tell them what to do," he said. "It could be that among themselves they realized that there are different ways and different methods of getting things out."

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said via e-mail that the U.S. cardinals were committed to transparency and had wanted to share "a process-related overview of their work" with the public "in order to inform while ensuring the confidentiality" of the general congregations.

"Due to concerns over accounts being reported in the Italian press, which breached confidentiality, the College of Cardinals has agreed not to give interviews," she said.

In total, 153 cardinals gathered Wednesday at the Vatican for a third day of meetings, known as general congregations, before they set the timetable for the election.

The cardinals spoke about new evangelization, restructuring of the church hierarchy, or curia, and the need for good governance of the church, Lombardi said.

A five-minute limit has been imposed on cardinals speaking at the meetings, although the microphone is not being switched off if they run over the time allowed.

The cardinals have decided to meet twice Thursday, in the morning and afternoon, in order to "intensify the rhythm of work," Lombardi said.

Video shown at a Vatican news conference showed workers preparing the Sistine Chapel for the secretive conclave.

An elevated floor is being put in place to protect the elaborate mosaic tiling, said Lombardi, where seats will be placed for the cardinals.

The Sistine Chapel and its ornate ceiling by Michelangelo are normally a must-see for tourists in Rome, but it was closed to the public beginning Tuesday afternoon to allow for preparations to take place.

Four suspected militants arrested in Semporna

Muslim anger explodes against Bangladesh's Hindu community

by Sumon Francis Gomes

Violence continues after the death sentence is imposed on the leader of an Islamic party convicted of war crimes. Homes and temples have been destroyed in various parts of the country.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Scores of homes have been set on fire, women and girls have been assaulted, temples have been desecrated and statues of the goddess Kali have been destroyed.

For days, Hindu communities in some areas of Bangladesh have been targeted by supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamic party, after its leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death for war crimes.

Acts of violence against the Hindu minority got worse yesterday during a hartal or strike called by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat's main ally, to protest against the verdict.

In Khulna (a town in the country's southwest), various activists from the Jamaat-Shibir (Jamaat-e-Islami's youth wing) and the BNP led protesters towards Dhopapara, a poor area largely inhabited by Hindus. Rapidly, the Muslim extremists set fire to eight homes and looted ten stores before they were dispersed by police.

"Jamaat members entered my house and beat my mother, my wife and my three daughters," said Amio Das, one of the victims of the attack. "They took our stuff and then set fire to the rest."

In the village of Aditmari (in the northern district of Lalmonirhat), some fundamentalists stormed and looted the Hindu temple of Sree Sree Shoshan Kali Mandir, dedicated to Kali, destroying statues of the goddess.

The same occurred to a temple in the village of Lakhirpar and another in Satkania (Chittagong).

Too late for apologies, Kiram clan tells Manila

Filipino Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III (2nd-R) prays with his family and supporters in Taguig, Metro Manila March 6, 2013. Jamalul said on ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday night that ‘the door of the Sultan is still open for negotiations’. – Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, March 6 – The Kiram clan turned a cold shoulder today to reports that the Philippine government wants to apologise for losing the letter it wrote in 2010, pointing out that it was too late as many Filipinos have already died during the violent clashes in Sabah.

Fatima Celia, wife of the self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, said on ABN-CBS News Channel in the Philippines tonight that the government should instead apologise to the families left behind by the Sulu’s “royal security force”.

“Damage has been done, no? Lives have been lost,” she said during prime time news at 8pm.

Jamalul’s brother, Agbimuddin Kiram, had led a group of over 200 armed man from the Sulu “royal army” to Lahad Datu in Sabah on February 9, hoping to stake its claim over the northern Borneo territory.

But today, nearly a month after their surprise landing, the men have suffered casualties at the hands of Malaysia’s security forces, who are currently still undergoing ground operations to flush them out of the east Malaysian state.

The incident has place Malaysia and the Philippine’s border security control under the spotlight, as well as ruffled feathers in the Aquino administration, which has been taking the brunt of attacks from Filipinos for allowing the gunfight on the Sulu militants.

Despite the attacks, Jamalul said on ABS-CBN News Channel tonight that “the door of the Sultan is still open for negotiations”.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported this afternoon that Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who just returned from Malaysia yesterday, plans to pen an apology letter to Agbimuddin for failing to attend to the letter that the Sulu leader had written to the Aquino administration in 2010, seeking wisdom on his clan’s claim over Sabah.

“I Intend to write a letter of apology,” Del Rosario was quoted as saying in a text message to the Inquirer.

In a statement published on its website today, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) admitted that the letter from Agbimuddin, which is believed to have been sent to Aquino two days before he took office in 2010, has been found in its possession.

“... that letter has been found with the DFA. The Secretary is taking full responsibility for the oversight,” the statement said.

Aquino had previously said that the letter was likely “lost in the bureaucratic maze”, while his spokesman Edwin Lacierda said recently that the Malacañang, the president’s official residence, never received the correspondence from Agbimuddin.

According to previous reports, the letter first congratulates Aquino on his presidency, before urging for the government’s guidance over the Sultanate’s ownership of Sabah, as well as a role in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Malaysia is a facilitator in the peace talks.

In the letter, Agbimuddin had also told Aquino about the creation of the Interim Supreme Royal Ruling Council (ISRRC) under the Sultanate, following a series of consultations in Siminul, Indanan and Kawit, in the Philippines, the daily reported.

Agbimuddin, who is the ISRRC chairman, had also expressed his followers’ frustration at being ignored for five decades over its Sabah claim, ending the letter by expressing hope to see “a change in the treatment of the Sabah issue” under Aquino’s administration.

The Inquirer reported that the Agbimuddin’s brother, Sultan Jamalul, had himself written to Aquino in 2011 and last year but upon receiving zero response, had agreed to a “royal decree” permitting the former to return “home” to Sabah with a group of followers in early February this year.

Malaysian security forces and the Sulu gunmen are still locked in a nearly one-month standoff that has claimed the lives of over 20 individuals, including eight Malaysian police personnel.

A dawn aerial attack and subsequent ground sweep yesterday by Malaysian forces have yet to prove successful, however, and Agbimuddin and his band of rebels are still believed to be on the loose and on the move.

According to reports from their family members in Taguig City, Philippines, the group has no plans to lay down arms and are ready to fight to the last, believing that their struggle would be for the betterment of their clan’s future.

Pro-Pakatan blogs link Najib to Sulu Sultan

Several pro-Pakatan Rakyat blogs posted pictures in their blogs; one being the sultan attending the Umno annual general assembly and the other, Najib posing with Jamalul's brother.

PETALING JAYA: With several mainstream media linking Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to the instrusion in Lahad Datu, several pro-opposition blogs posted pictures linking Umno and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to the Filipino intruders.

Greenboc.blogspot.com posted a picture of the self-styled Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the leader of the Sulu intruders, attending the 2012 Umno general assembly.

“He was guest at the Umno annual general assembly. Jamalul was invited as a sign of friendship. What are you going to say now?” reads the post in the blog.

Blogger Tulang Besi, who runs the Malaysian Waves site, posted a picture of Najib posing with Sultan Eslam Kiram II, brother of Jamalul Kiram.

“There are many other Umno leaders who took pictures with Eslam but it’s not out yet,” he said.

Tulang Besi also said that Umno supporters were upset with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) supremo Nur Misuari as the latter blamed Najib for the mess in Sabah.

“Before this, these Umno supporters didn’t even say a word about Nur Misuari. Now they are trying to link the MNLF leader to Anwar,” he added.

However, the most intriguing part of the story comes from Philippines-based media, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, quoting Nur Misuari on Feb 22 that the intruders were there on “invitation”.

Nur Misuari claimed that he heard that the group led by Crown Prince Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, younger brother of Jamalul, went to Sabah because they were allegedly promised to be settled there by Najib himself.

Yesterday, the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) launched an assault on areas of Sabah held by the Filipino intruders.

The police and the military called the operation a success and said that no Malaysians were harmed in the assault.

MNLF’s former propaganda chief, Hadji Acmad Bayam had since threatened to send in his guerillas to aid his fellow Filipinos if the Malaysian military did not cease its attacks.

What role did the Scorpene subs play?

Suaram director Kua Kia Soong questions the strategy used against the Sulu intruders in Lahad Datu.

KUALA LUMPUR: Suaram director Kua Kia Soong has questioned the strategy used by the armed forces in Lahad Datu.

“What role did the Scorpene submarines play in the Lahad Datu crisis?

“Is it wise to use jet fighters like the Hornets against a motley group of 250 Sulu men in a 4km radius? Shouldn’t we be using helicopters such as the Apache instead?

“Where was the Navy to prevent the invaders from coming in?” he asked during the launch of Malaysian civil society’s 20-point demands for the 13th general election at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall this morning.

The armed conflict in Lahad Datu began last month when a large group of Sulu men claiming to be soldiers of the Sulu sultan invaded a village in Lahad Datu.

Last week, several policemen who were deployed to Lahad Datu died as a result of mortar attacks by the Sulu men who are from the modern day Philippines.

Yesterday, the Royal Malaysian Air Force conducted air bombardment in the area where the Sulu were believed to be holding up using Hornet jet fighter planes.

Kua also questioned why the policemen deployed there were not equipped with bulletproof vests and safety helmets.

He said this while presenting one of the 20-point demand in light of the upcoming 13th general election

The demand pertaining to the defence sector called for defence cuts and promotion of peace and disarmament.

The demand also called for defence budgets to be below 1% of the Gross Domestic Product, a parliamentary defence committee led by an opposition lawmaker and an independent Ombudsman to oversee the defence budget.

It also called for National Volunteer Corp’s (RELA) power to arrest, detain and carry firearms to be abolished since the police are empowered to do that.

On another note, A Jayanath of Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) elaborated on the demand to eradicate institutionalised racism.

He called for education and economic policies to be based on need not race with priority to indigenous, marginalised, and poor communities.

“The New Economic Policy (NEP) must be abolished since it has already ended in 1990. Abolishing something that has ended is not lofty,” he said when asked by the press.

The NEP was tabled in 1971 as a result of the May 13, 1969 clashes with dual prong objectives to end poverty and abolish income inequality.

“Poverty and income inequality are getting worse,” Jayanath said.

The NGOs also wanted amendment 8(A) in Article 153 to be amended because it is not in the original federal constitution. The amendment was passed during the emergency in 1971.

The amendment is part of Article 153, which is seen as controversial because it provides for preferential treatment that favours the Malays and the Bumiputera.

Aside from the two, the balance 18 demands emphasised on human rights, free and fair election, corruption eradication, representative and accountable democracy and freedom of information expression and assembly.

The group of 34 NGOs also demanded for rights of the workers, refugee rights, women, and indigenous rights.

They also demanded for progressive economic and fiscal policy, animal and environment protection. The demands also include public health care, people centred social policy, diverse cultural policy, and public safety.

All the demands will be made available online on the NGO websites and through social networking website, Facebook.

A copy of the demands will also be sent to political party headquarters soon.

MIC fears poor turnout, postpones rally

Party defers plan for a second mammoth gathering as they fear there will be a small turnout, say sources.

PETALING JAYA: MIC has deferred its plan for a second mammoth gathering which was originally planned to be held on March 3 for fear of not being able to outdo the Unity Ponggal celebration last month, said sources.

The postponement of the event comes as a blow to the largest Indian-based political party in the country which is trying to shore-up Indian support just ahead of the general election.

MIC’s ‘Unity Ponggal’ festival last month at Dataran Merdeka drew close to 100,000 Indians. Impressed, the party announced that it would organise another one on March 3.

“We are rescheduling the event to March 13. We have yet to confirm the time and place,” said party treasurer Jaspal Singh, the man in charge of the second gathering.

He said the event was not only organised by the party leadership but also “involves all branch chairmen in Selangor,” he said.

Sources revealed that the postponement was to enable leaders to gather the crowd as a lack of crowd could spell doom for the party, especially for party president G Palanivel who wants to do one better than the Unity Ponggal gathering organised by his vice president M Saravanan.

In 2008, the Malaysian Indian community turned their backs on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and efforts to woo the community back to the BN fold fell on the MIC.

The party, however, has been struggling to achieve this aim, under the leadership of Palanivel.

Palanivel replaced S Samy Vellu who relinquished the presidency after the massive loss at the 2008 general election.

In the last election the party lost six out of the nine parliamentary seats it contested. Among the casualties were Samy Vellu and Palanivel.

Palanivel’s inability to rouse the Malaysian Indian community resulted in Prime Minister and BN chief Najib Tun Razak taking it upon himself to woo the community.

Najib, sensing the importance of Indian votes to remain in power, is a prominent face at all major Indian events.

Surveys conducted by several organisations showed that the Indian support for the BN is on a steady rise and that this was due to Najib’s efforts.

Malaysian universities not in the Times list of World’s top 400 universities

• Second time in a row for Malaysia to not make it into the Times List of the World’s top 400 universities
• Two Singaporean institutions made it in the top 100
• Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ranked 98th in Top 100 Universities under 50 category

Not a single university in Malaysia appeared in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings this year. Except for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) which managed to place 98th in the Top 100 Universities under 50 category.

Two Singapore institutions are among the top 100. The National University of Singapore (NUS) ranked 29th and Nanyang Technological University at 86th.
The top ten are seven US-based and three UK-based universities, with the California Institute of Technology stealing the show at 95.5 points. NUS got 77.5 points whereas Nanyang 59.4 points.
Thailand’s King Mongkut’s University of Technology is the only other Southeast Asian University in the list, at 351st place. According to Times Higher Education website, the universities were judged according to 13 performance indicators from five areas – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. Moreover, universities were judged according to disciplinary mix, citation counts and research.
In response to this, Minister of Higher Education Khaled Nording said that the absence of the country’s universities in the Times rankings was due to their recent venture into research. “Times used an evaluation of over ten years. Our focus on research in university only started in 2007. So, most of our universities didn’t participate,” he explained.
Khaled then spoke about local universities’ participation in the QS World University Rankings 2012/2013, which uses five-year data. Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia came in at 156th and 261st place in the QS list.
Meanwhile, party supremo Lim Kit Siang accused the government of lacking the political will to improve the country’s education system.
“A lof ot talk of revamping and overhauling the system hasn’t come to anything concrete,” he said. He said that Malaysia’s universities were once highly recognised as esteemed institutions of public learning. Those days, he added, were long gone.
The full list can be found HERE

Malaysian-Trained MNLF Fighters Join Kiram Forces

Bayam said he was confident the Malaysian authorities were not able to find the hidden MNLF firearms because they were kept very well by the MNLF commanders who stayed behind in Sabah.

Edd K. Usman, Manila Bulletin

Malaysian security forces are now facing battle-tested, Malaysian-trained commanders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who know Sabah like the palm of their hands.

Hadji Acmad Bayam, former chief propagandist of the MNLF, revealed this yesterday to the Manila Bulletin, adding that these MNLF forces may have at their disposal a huge arsenal, which they hid deep in Sabah’s rugged terrain when they returned to the Philippines after their rigid training.

Among the firearms are Belgian-made G1 and FAL, which the late Libya leader Colonel Moammar Khadafy supplied through Malaysia.

Bayam said he was confident the Malaysian authorities were not able to find the hidden MNLF firearms because they were kept very well by the MNLF commanders who stayed behind in Sabah.

During that training, Malaysian military trainors even joked about the firearms at the MNLF training camp on Jampiras Island, off Sabah, as they turned over Khadafy’s weapons’ supply.

“We are not even sure if the firearms we are giving you will not be turned against,” the Malaysian trainors had said in a jest.

“Well, speaking of self-fulfilling prophecy,” Bayam said, recalling the jokes of the Malaysian trainors.

Now, Filipinos in Sabah, who are not part of the forces of the Sultanate of Sulu, have already joined the fighting in reaction to what they perceived as Malaysian “atrocities” for killing Imam Maas and his four sons at 7:50 p.m. Saturday.

He recalled that Malaysia’s leadership had even suspected the then chief minister of Sabah, Tun Mustapha, a Tausug from Sulu, of “conspiring” with MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari to secede the oil-rich island.

“You know, if Mindanao is to Manila, Sabah is to Kuala Lumpur,” said Bayam, explaining that Mindanao and Sabah are the “milking cows” of the Philippines and Malaysia, respectively, for their rich natural resources.

Bayam, who yielded to then President Fidel V. Ramos, stayed in Sabah, Malaysia, for nine years before the peace talks with the Ramos administration in 1993.

Bayam stayed in Sabah on-and-off, in 1976-79, in 1980-1986, among other dates.

Further, he said many of the seasoned rebel commanders and rank-and-file members chose to remain on Sabah island to live there.

Majority of them are from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga Peninsula, but there are also Maguindanaons, Iranons, and probably Maranaos, he said.

A few days ago, he said one of the MNLF foreign-trained commanders belonging to the Top 90 Batch, told him that he was enlisting Tausug warriors and others for reinforcement to the Royal Security Force (RSF) of the Sultanate of Sulu.

“I was trying to contact him yesterday but his phone cannot be reached anymore. I guess he was able to penetrate the Malaysian and Philippine sea-borne blockades in their respective borders.

Bayam described the commander “as soft-spoken but firm and true leader-fighter in actual shooting war.” However, he requested that the commander’s name be not made public.

Last Sunday, Abraham J. Idjirani, spokesman of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, said 40 people from Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga Peninsula breached the blockades and reached Lahad Datu, Sabah, scene of the standoff that erupted into a firefight.

He said there are many others who are now trying to go to Sabah and help the sultan’s followers led by Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.

Bayam said that with the way the situation in Sabah is going on, he sees no turning back.

On the other hand, he said this gives the United States an opportunity to correct its “historical error” it committed against the Moro people.

He said this was even acknowledged by the administration of then President George Bush in response to a letter from the late Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Ustadhz Salamat Hashim.

Cooler heads should put themselves at work and resolve the issue on Sabah claim.

“This is the best time and opportunity,” Bayam said. “They should seize the fleeting opportunity or lost it forever.”

“As the only leader of the free world, the only guardian of human rights, freedom and democracy, the American government has the opportunity to correct the historical error against the Moro people,” Bayam said.

Feeling Abandoned

Meanwhile, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III who still feeling abandoned by the Philippines yesterday said they are now relying on the United Nations, United States, and United Kingdom for help.

He said they are no longer waiting for any help from the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III because none is coming anyway.

Kiram aired his sentiments on DZMM radio early Monday morning.

“We are not waiting anymore. No more. There is no help (from the Philippines),” he said in Filipino.

He said now they will rely on the UN, US, and UK.

On the appeal of the President to preserve the lives of the Sultanate of Sulu’s followers in Lahad Datu, Sabah, the sultan struck a defiant mood.

“No more. There is no more preservation... it’s in the hands of Almighty Allah,” the sultan said.

As this developed, former congressman Satur Ocampo, Dr. Carol Araullo, both Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and Vice President Rafaelita Gonio of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), paid a visit yesterday at Astanah Kiram in Maharlika Village, Taguig City.

Ocampo and Araullo expressed support to the cause of the Kirams in trying to claim Sabah from Malaysia.

Ocampo said that the President should review the government’s stand because the new developments.

Gonio said her support is a personal one because Philconsa has not yet made its position on the issue.

At about 12:20 p.m. also yesterday, another militant, independent senatorial candidate Teddy Casino also arrived to visit the sultan.

Early Sunday evening, former secretary of Department of National Defense (DND) Norberto Gonzales made a surprised visit at Astanah Kiram, as he belied allegations he had a hand in the Sabah standoff.

He said he saw the sultan on television and felt sad for his condition.

On Malacañang’s allegations he was allegedly one of the “instigators” of the Sabah standoff, he said he did not know about it.

Whether he is a “collaborator” in the now bloody standoff, he had an answer.

“If being a friend (makes you) a collaborator, then I am a collaborator,” said Gonzales, the former former National Security Adviser of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Ex-Army Chief Rues Lack of Clear Chain of Command

There is no clear chain of command with regard to what is happening in Lahad Datu, says former army chief Gen (Rtd) Md Hashim Hussein.

When you have such a situation, Md Hashim said, there must be a clear command structure.

“This is needed to coordinate the operations. Right now, I think it is not there,” he said.

However, Md Hashim (right), who retired in 2002, admitted that a clear assessment of the ground situation was needed.

In contrast, he said, the Sauk incident in Perak was resolved in four days, with the right personnel.

“We managed to resolve it due to a clear command structure, clear orders, clear control, plus we had the right troops for the task,” he said.

The retired general also warned the government against using information war to blackout incidents such as what was going on in Lahad Datu.

“As for the information warfare that they use… What a tangled web we weave if we begin to deceive”.

Md Hashim also announced that he has officially joined PKR today and voiced his support for Pakatan Rakyat.

Formerly Malaysia’s ambassador to Pakistan, Md Hashim said he is attracted to the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim, who was his schoolmate in the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK).

“He has managed to harmonise Pakatan, all ethnic communities and Malaysia, and this is due to Anwar’s leadership quality,” he said.

“I find the Pakatan leaders have the right leadership qualities and can lead the country. I also verify the claims made by my former number two, Lt-Gen Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid, on the wastage and leakages in army spending,” he said.

‘Barracks and facilities in bad shape’

Md Hashim, who was first commander to the Malaysian batallion in Bosnia-Herzogovina, said he had gone to some of the army camps up north to verify the claims made by Abdul Ghafir.

He said he had seen that army conditions are indeed in a bad shape, including their homes, barracks, washroom and also armaments.

“There was a former senior airforce officer that reminded that there were no proper spare parts for aircrafts, however, this person had been admonished by the (BN) politician,” he claimed.

Md Hashim said he expected to receive brickbats for voicing his support for Pakatan, but assured that he had carefully thought about the matter after discussing with some of his former officers.

The former top army personnel said that the Pakatan leadership had been coercing him to make an appearance, and he thinks that there was a need to strategise his entrance into the party to bring the desired impact.

Over the past few weeks, several former armed forces top guns had voiced their support towards Pakatan.

Abdul Ghafir had even pledged, during a Pakatan convention, that the army will ensure a smooth transition should the opposition come into power after the general election.

Sabah Incursion: Just my thoughts ― Art Harun

MARCH 6 ― The incursion by the Sulu terrorists into Sabah is a culmination of socio-political complexities that were ignored due to post-World War II socio-political order and convenience.

Firstly, we have an ancient Sultanate living in the 18th century, forgetting the fact that their forefathers have sold their sovereignty for self interest, without nary a thought for the people whom they claim to rule, in exchange for what appeared to be big money then, but reduced to pittance in the 21st century.

We have a so-called Sultan who apparently rules his subjects from Manila, who speaks as if he’s the most benevolent of rulers and who sent his subjects to a hopeless war from within the comfort of Metro Manila.

Secondly, we have a government of a state ― which is not really a state ― that fails to control and impose law and order on wide areas of the so-called state, giving rise to vast areas where people do not really recognise the state and her government.

Thirdly, we have this same state, which is facing an election, and the same Sultan running in the election in an opposition pact after having lost the last election with 800 votes.

The leader of the opposition pact is now under house arrest after being convicted for electoral fraud. The state’s ancient and baseless claim for Sabah is an election issue which that opposition pact wishes to pursue and doubtlessly exploited in the name of nationalism and patriotism, however misguided and misplaced they may be.

Fourthly, on the home front, we have had leaders from both sides of the fence who had courted this so-called Sultan and claimant to the Sultanate (at least there are five of them) before, all in the name of Malay-ness and Islam.

Some of our citizens are even conferred Datukships by these feudal Sultan without a kingdom. This lends a semblance of recognition by our very own leaders of the Sultan and the Sultanate.

Fifthly, Malaysia cannot deny, no matter how loud Dr Mahathir shouts, that she has been a sympathiser of the Bangsa Moro’s so-called fight for liberation. Now that very Bangsa Moro is coming back to haunt Malaysia for all her generosity in the past.

In fact, we were so pally-pally with the Moros that, in the 80s (or was it early 90s?), when Nur Misuari’s rebellion was crushed in the Philippines, our friend casually and nonchalantly landed in Sabah airport thinking we would welcome him as a guest. We, however, handcuffed him and sent him back to the Philippines to face his prosecutors.

Number six: Malaysia has always allowed the porous borders of the Sulu, Tawi-tawi and the surrounding islands with Sabah to be breached without a semblance of enforcement of our immigration laws. People go in and out of that area with absolute impunity from immigration laws on, not a daily basis, but hourly basis.

That area is like a free trade zone where people would conduct their daily business even in rupiah and pesos. This episode shows that maintenance of law and order is absolutely critical for internal security, no matter how difficult or petty it is.

Seventh: Project IC during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time. Do I need to say more about this?

Perhaps it is time for all of us ― the people of Malaysia, the government and the opposition alike ― to take law and order seriously. Be like Singapore when it comes to enforcement of the laws. They even enforce the chewing gum law with the passion of an Israeli soldier in Gaza.

It is also time that our intelligence unit to be beefed up and to be aware of any strife or crisis in and surrounding us, no matter how minute it may be. The next time-bomb that we have to monitor is the Pattani issue, and the Spratly islands that are being claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines and China.

International relationship, internal security and matters pertaining to the nation’s security is like the stock market. A bomb explodes in Timbuktu and Apple’s shares might come tumbling down.

It is the same with our security. The Philippines are having an election and Sabah is invaded by armed terrorists. We just have to be aware of things, analyse each and every situation and events and see how they could affect us.

People who do not analyse events often lose out in the stock market. We have to engage in battles on our own land because we were not sensitive enough to events surrounding us.

It is not too late for us to improve. A nation’s achievement is not only measured from her success but also from how she rises from a set-back and learns from it to take her to greater height.

My thoughts and prayers are with all our brave men and women on the battle front. May God bless them, protect them and grant them strength and determination. Victory is always with the righteous.

Malaysia berjaya! ― art-harun.blogspot.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

13 Terrorists Bodies Found In Kampung Tanduo

LAHAD DATU, March 6 (Bernama) -- The bodies of 13 armed terrorists were found in Kampung Tanduo during a 'sweeping and mopping' operation Wednesday following the offensive launched by Malaysian security forces on the stronghold of the intruders in the village.

One of the bodies was that of the terrorist who was shot dead in an exchange of fire with the security forces at 6.45am today, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein at 4pm, Ahmad Zahid said nine of the bodies were found in an open grave covered with pieces of planks.

Several photographs of the 'Op Daulat' taken by the security forces were distributed to the media, including photographs of the terrorists' bodies in a grave.

Also distributed was the photograph of a forensic personnel who was attacked by the intruders while inspecting a grave in the village and firearms seized by the security forces.

At the same time, Ahmad Zahid criticised the attitude of the social media that belittled the action of the security forces' front line by describing it as a drama.

"These photographs show that our security forces have the efficiency to carry out the operation. This is not a drama," he said.

Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said there were two clashes around the village as members of the military forces and police carried out sweeping and mopping operations.

"At 6.45 this morning, our troops had clashed with the intruders and our security forces shot dead a member of the intruding group.

"At 1.45pm, our forensic team was attacked by the group of intruders while investigating the graveyard where the bodies of the intruders were buried in the village," he said, confirming that no member of the security forces had been injured.

He said the joint operation by the police and military had also found various firearms belonging to the foreign terrorists.