Report on slain sultan’s men denied

There’s no truth to reports by the Malaysian media that 35 Filipinos were gunned down in the Sulu Sea by the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard while en route to Sabah on a mission to disrupt the coming elections in Malaysia.

The Philippine Navy, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Sultanate of Sulu in Tawi-Tawi issued separate statements yesterday denying the report, which came out in Malaysia’s Star Online.

“We don’t have that kind of report,” said Marine Col. Edgard Arevalo, Philippine Navy spokesman for the Sabah and West Philippine Sea issues.

“If they had entered our waters, we would have taken them out. We will defend our country,” Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying in a press briefing.

Arevalo said the Philippine ambassador to Malaysia could be the best person to confirm the story.

Tawi-Tawi provincial police director Senior Superintendent Joselito Salido said that based on his communication with Naval Task Force 62 commander Capt. Renato Yonke, not one of the 34 vessels guarding the waters between Tawi-Tawi and Sabah had reported any encounter with gunmen. “It’s calm out there,” said Salido. “We don’t have that kind of report,” MNLF political bureau chief Haji Gapul Hajirul said.

Sulu sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said a deadly sea encounter would not have escaped the attention of Philippine media or even Tawi-Tawi residents.

“That’s funny, really. It seemed they had run out of wild stories. Their past propaganda has not been successful so they are trying to create a story so we Filipinos would fight each other,” Idjirani said.

“I was in Jolo since Thursday last week. If something happens in Jolo, we will certainly know it, and fast,” he added.

Idjirani said the sultanate’s armed followers in Lahad have no intention of disrupting the May 5 elections in Malaysia.

“We’ve been saying that we will not cause any trouble to the Malaysian elections,” Idjirani said.

Not in a hurry

In Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, President Aquino said his administration is in no rush to settle the Sabah issue despite its being accused of lacking position on the matter and of mishandling the crisis sparked by the Sultan of Sulu’s sending of armed followers to the territory to stake his claim.

The President made this clear in a press briefing at the Philippine embassy here where he also promised to resolve the issue to “everybody’s satisfaction.” Aquino is in Brunei for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

He said he was happy that relations with Malaysia remained stable despite the confrontation between the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and Malaysian security forces.

“Towards that end, we have already tasked a study group because it’s lengthy isn’t it? It will be a multidisciplinary approach. There is historical basis, there is legal basis (that is) local to us, and legal (with) international aspects,” he said, referring to an ongoing review Ð which he ordered Ð of the country’s dormant Sabah claim.

“There are many issues surrounding the central issue and the things that happen with the issue might affect the present and the future. And we want to have a solution, again, that makes everybody happy, that is based on the fact and just deliberation of the issues,” the President said.

He said he hopes the study would help the government achieve an in-depth understanding of the issue that had been in the backburner for decades.

The President said resolving the ownership issue is not as simple as claiming that the sultan of Sulu used to own the territory before it went to the British and eventually to Malaysia.

“There are also practical realities as to who has administrative control right now, and so on and so forth,” Aquino said, citing the decolonization era after World War II as well as the 1963 referendum in which Sabah opted to be part of the Malaysian Federation. “So is it over? I think. It is not a hot issue right now,” he said.

Aquino noted that based on what he had read, even the Kirams were now seeking a peaceful end to the Sabah issue even as their forces remained holed up in Lahad Datu in Sabah.

He said every action or decision on the issue must be “carefully studied and the direction must really be based on logic, reason, and values Ð taking cognizance of the realities of the world that is there.”

The President said he had not talked with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak recently because they both had been busy with the elections. The Malaysian leader did not attend the ASEAN summit.

“So I understand that he does not have time to discuss these matters. And we, also, by May 13 we’ll also have our own elections. So we have to attend to this very important concern first,” he said.

Aquino said proof that PhilippineMalaysia relations remain normal despite the Sabah issue was the prompt release by Malaysian authorities of a group of Filipinos from Tawi-Tawi whose boat drifted to Sabah after encountering engine trouble. The Filipinos were poll candidates and their supporters.

“But what happened if you don’t have trust and you don’t have good relations? In effect, they relied on the fact that they are candidates, the ship malfunctioned, there is no malice involved,” Aquino said. “So I think that already signifies how good the relationships are between us and Malaysia.”

Sabah lessons

Meanwhile, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said he wants the Sabah issue Ð including its history Ð taught in schools.

“My proposal is to educate the youth on Sabah so that we will not forget that it’s part of history,” Pimentel told editors and reporters of The STAR during a roundtable discussion on Wednesday.

Pimentel said that by educating the youth on Sabah, “succeeding generations will be able to thoroughly understand the issue and pursue the claim through peaceful means in international courts.”

He also said he would propose the creation of a panel of experts to conduct a study on the historical basis of the Sultanate’s claim. The results of such study would be used as basis by Department of Foreign Affairs for raising the matter to international courts.

He also said Malaysians cannot blame the Philippine government for the incursion of Kiram’s followers in Sabah.

He said that although the incursion is now a police issue to Malaysians, the rights of the sultanate’s followers should still be respected in accordance with international law.

He appealed to Malaysia to avoid using aircraft and bombs in dealing with the Filipinos.