Disastrous tack

Malaysian political figures pointed to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as having exerted efforts to block discussions with the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate even during the Lahad Datu incident, an omission that is believed to have resulted in the seizure of overseas Petronas assets.

The allegations against Najib bring back his dalliance with the administration of former president Noynoy Aquino, particularly on all matters involving Mindanao.

Members of the People’s Justice Party or PKR filed police reports against Najib over his failure to address the Sabah issue.

It has been a long-held belief that Malaysian leaders deal with the incumbent president rather than the claimants as an approach to prevent the Sabah dispute from surfacing.

The Aquino administration swept the Sabah claim under the rug particularly as reflected in its response to the 2013 Lahad Datu incursion by the followers of the Sultanate.

Noynoy merely toed the line of Najib in addressing the crisis, as he directed the allies of the Sultanate to surrender unconditionally, which was the same demand of Najib on those he called as Sabah invaders.

It was even Noynoy, not Najib, who issued a deadline for the Sultanate to withdraw its forces from Sabah.

Palace briefings of Aquino also contained the obligatory Malaysian warnings against the Sultanate’s army that was mostly armed with bolos.

Aquino did not even say anything about the safety of the 800,000 Filipinos who are Sabah residents and were made to bear the brunt of Najib’s retribution, resulting to the deportation of many of the Filipinos.

Members of the Sulu royal family then indicated that the Sabah adventure would not have been necessary had Aquino consulted them on the process of forming the Bangsamoro region.

Among the grudges of the Sultanate was the token rent paid by Malaysia for the oil-rich territory, which was even stopped after the skirmish.

The lesson learned from the trouble that Najib is now facing is ignoring the Sabah conflict for too long, hoping that it will be passed on infinitely to a new dispensation, as this will only result to more painful consequences.

Malaysia had to find out that its overseas assets can be attached to the Sultanate’s $14.9 billion claim, and it is now scrambling its legal experts to prevent its many overseas assets from being seized.

For the country, opportunities might be missed if the issue is not properly addressed.

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It has been a long-held belief that Malaysian leaders deal with the incumbent president rather than the claimants as an approach to prevent the Sabah dispute from surfacing.

“Malaysia had to find out that its overseas assets can be attached to the Sultanate’s $14.9 billion claim.