Sabah claim to be pushed thru talks, says sultanate

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The sultanate of Sulu considers closed  the issue about Lahad Datu, where armed men loyal to the sultan tried to occupy a village in Sabah.

Sultan Esmail Kiram II said he wished not to speak further about what happened in Lahad Datu.

“It is finished, closed,” he told reporters here on Saturday. Esmail succeeded his brother, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who died last month.

Esmail said his brother’s wish to continue the claim over Sabah would have to go through a different approach.

“There will be more dialogues and only those involved will be in these dialogues,” Esmail  said.

This time, Esmail  said, only the sultanate of Sulu and representatives of the Malaysian government would be involved in the talks.

Esmail  was a guest in the turnover of command rites at  Western Mindanao Command, where Lt. Gen. Rey Ardo was replaced by Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero.

Ardo said that with the new sultan, the Sabah claim  “will have a new direction.”

Guerrero said the presence of Esmail  could be a sign that the Royal Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu might no longer opt for a violent claim over Sabah.  “The  Sabah claim can be better resolved through dialogue,” Guerrero said. Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao