DIGOS CITY—Ten persons, who were either Filipino or had Filipino
descent, were arrested over suspicions of collaboration with the “Sulu
terrorists,” abetting them or even participation in actual attacks
against Malaysian security forces, Malaysian authorities said Friday.
Hamza Taib, Sabah police commissioner, said in an interview by a
Sabah-based radio station that two of the suspects—both in their
40s—were arrested by police authorities in Bukit Aman in Semporna around
8 p.m. Thursday, while the eight others were collared as they tried to
enter the operation area in Lahad Datu on a speedboat past midnight,
also on the same day.
Quoting a report by Semporna police chief Mohamad Firdaus Francis
Abdullah, Hamza said the two suspects with Filipino ancestry were taken
in for questioning during a sweep of Bukit Aman, following information
they were “collaborators or might have even been involved in the March 2
ambush in Kampung Simunul.”
Hamza said later that evening, policemen in Lahad Datu arrested
eight more men—all Filipino—who had no identification or immigration
documents, as they tried to dock in Kampung Sungai Bilis.
He said a check on the speedboat uncovered a stash of peso bills, “totaling P369,000 and 300 jerrycans (water containers).”
“No weapons were found but we wondered what they were doing there with huge amount of money and lots of jerrycans,” Hamza said.
He said the men, some as young as 17, were now being investigated
under Malaysia’s Security Offenses and Special Measures Act (Sosma) and
immigration laws.
Hamza said the sweep against suspected supporters of the Sulu “terrorists” was continuing.
In another interview over the same radio station, Malaysia Deputy
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia has nothing to explain to
Manila as it strives to deal with the “intrusion.”
“Why do we need to discuss anything with (the Philippine government)?” he asked.
Muhyiddin said the Philippine government was not a party to the
Sabah crisis, brought up by the armed intrusion of “Sulu terrorists,” in
the first place.
The state-run Radio 24 said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
has defended Putrajaya’s decision to take head on the “invaders of
Sabah.”
Najib was quoted as saying nobody should question Malaysia’s
handling of the Sabah incident because it did not violate international
or religious laws.
“Malaysia was on the side of the truth in
defending the country’s sovereignty from the terrorists. The Government
is most careful in the matter and about what we are doing,” Najib was
quoted as telling supporters during a lunch he hosted after attending
Friday prayers in Tanah Merah in Kelantan on Friday.
He was also reported to have said that
under any Islamic law, Malaysia was not liable because it repeatedly
gave the “terrorists” opportunity to get out of Sabah without harm.
Nothing in the international law could also prevent Malaysia from
defending its territory.
“We did not want bloodshed, we did not want
lives lost but we were attacked and we had to defend ourselves,” he was
quoted as further telling supporters.
He also described the slain members of Malaysia’s security forces as “martyrs.”
Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has
intensified its campaign against the opposition in Malaysia, either for
linking the dominant United Malays National Organization (Umno) party to
the “intrusion” or for “belittling” the government’s efforts against
the “royal army.”
On Friday, policemen raided the office of
Suara Keadilan – the propaganda machine of Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti
Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) – in Johor Baru in Johor state.
In a statement posted on its website, Suara
Keadilan – which also maintains a radio station – said the policemen
told its staff that they will be confiscating computers “used to upload”
a “seditious” statement issued by PKR vice president Tian Chua that
Umno was “behind the Lahad Datu intrusion.”
Suara Keadilan said its staff had prevented
the police from taking any computer after they told them to contact
lawyer Latheefa Koya before they did so.
The opposition’s information machine said
the policemen then sought its reporter, who had interviewed Tian over
the alleged Umno links to the Sabah crisis.
On Thursday, Tian was also formally charged over his “seditious statement” at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Tian denied he had accused Umno of plotting
the Sabah invasion to allegedly divert the attention of and intimidate
Sabahans to support the Najib’s Barisan Nasional during the July general
elections.
He was also being accused of insinuating
that Umno politicians had conspired to stage the Sabah “drama” to steer
away the people’s attention from the controversial issuance of identity
cards to foreigners on the said state.
Many foreigners – including Filipinos – had
acquired Mykad, or the IDs issued to Malaysian citizens and permanent
residents, due to the support of Malaysian politicians, including then
prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
In a statement published by Suara Keadilan,
Tian described the charge as “politically motivated” and added he was
ready to face “this slander to clear my name.”
If found guilty, the opposition leader
might spend up to three years in jail aside from a maximum fine of
RM5,000 (about P65,000).
But even before he was found guilty, Tian
already had to post bail amounting to RM5,000 before he was released
from police custody amid his lawyer’s appeal to Judge Mohamad Sekeri
Mamat to free the opposition leader on a custodial guarantee.
Sumber: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69235/10-filipinos-arrested-in-sabah-malaysian-authorities
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