Murad meets with Malaysian PM
COTABATO CITY — Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chair Al Hadj Murad Ebrahim has discussed with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani the fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which was not passed by Congress, according to the official website of the MILF Central Committee on Information.
Separate reports in the information site said Murad personally met with Razak in Kuala Lumpur last February 25 before he proceeded to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on February 28 to have an audience with Madani.
Razak confirmed meeting with Murad in a statement and said that he had convinced the MILF chair that “despite the current setback, the MILF must remain faithful to the peace process since it is a practical choice to resolve the Bangsamoro issue.”
Murad had earlier expressed the MILF’s “deep frustration and grave dismay” over the non-passage of the BBL, which he described as a vital instrument to the peace deals signed with the Philippine government in 2013 and 2014.
In the same meeting, Razak was assured by Murad of the MILF’s “commitment to peaceful campaign for continuity in the fourdecade old negotiations with the Philippine government.”
As a gesture of Malaysia’s continuing commitment to its role as third party facilitator in the peace process, Razak informed Murad that he would be sending another batch of Malaysian observers to be led by Defense Minister YB Dato Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
The Malaysian team is expected to join the International Monitoring Team (IMT) which will witness a “handing over” process in this city later this month.
“(I urge) the MILF to actively reach out to other Moro groups in order to foster Bangsamoro unity and ensure the inclusivity of the current peace process,” said Razak, as he also called on “all groups in Mindanao to reject radicalization and extremism.”
“We must uphold and implement wasatiyah (moderate approach), which brings forth a moderate, just and balanced way of life,” he added.
For his part, Madani said the OIC shared the dismay felt by the MILF over the nonpassage of the BBL in Congress, but extolled its leadership and the Malaysian governmentfacilitator for renewing commitments for a peaceful conclusion of the years of armed conflict in Mindanao.
Madani also shared the MILF and Malaysia’s common desire for the revival of the BBL in the next Congress, hoping the re-filed measures would be more acceptable to all parties.
But he warned of the adverse effects of the delayed passage of the BBL or the adoption of a weak version especially on human, security and developmental provisions of the MILF-GPH peace deals.
The OIC leader also renewed call for the leaders of the Bangsamoro people, particularly the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front to utilize the existing mechanism of the Bangsamoro Coordinating Forum (BCF) to achieve a more unified position, coherent and sustainable cooperation for the benefit of the Bangsamoro people.