The elections are coming and let us be responsible. Let us vote not for a politician but a leader who will really fight for our rights as Filipinos.—Sultanate of Sulu princess Jacel Kiram, on the morning program “Banner Story”
The Philippines’ claim on Sabah should be revived, most respondents of the recently concluded INQUIRER.net poll said.
Despite its condemnation of the incursion into Sabah by followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu, it is the obligation of the Philippine government to provide legal assistance to Filipinos who have been arrested and are facing charges of terrorism in Malaysia, a senatorial candidate said here Thursday.
Princess Jacel Kiram on Thursday questioned Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II’s sincerity in his talks with her uncle, Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram II.
Last week, the Malaysian police took drastic action against the followers of the Sultan of Sulu who are holed up Lahad town, Sabah. After they attacked last Saturday, 12 of his men and two policemen died. President Aquino and the Malaysian Prime Minister said that the sultan’s followers have no option left but to surrender but they are steadfast on their position not leave the place that they believe to be their own.
As the conflict between Malaysian security forces and the “Royal Army” of the Sultanate of Sulu escalated, the Muslim community in Metro Cebu wants the Philippine government to consider the claim of the Kirams to Sabah, an oil-rich territory in Borneo Island.
What was in that letter so that Sultan Jamalul Kiram III could say that had the President paid attention to it, he and his followers would not have taken matters in their own hands?
Whether the heirs of the sultanate of Sulu acted on their own to reclaim Sabah or were instigated by an external force to do so, one thing is certain, according to government intelligence sources: It was a business that proved too big for the heirs to handle on their own.
The sultan of Sulu and others responsible for the Sabah standoff are facing investigation and possible charges for a crisis that has entered its third week.
The Philippines and a Muslim separatist group hope to finalize a peace agreement ending a decades-old insurgency by April, a government negotiator said Thursday.
Will the Aquino administration step in and help the sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo retake Sabah from Malaysia?
