Lahad Datu News Compilation Thread

[MidnightSun]

Published: Monday April 1, 2013 MYT 8:41:00 PM

Lahad Datu: Eight more charged with terrorism

By STEPHANIE LEE

LAHAD DATU: Eight more people have been charged in connection with the Lahad Datu intrusion, bringing the total number of people charged to 16 on Monday.

Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Hamza Taib said the suspects were charged under section 130 KA of the Penal Code for terrorism read with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

"They will be brought to the High Court for a hearing tomorrow," he said Monday at the daily Ops Daulat media briefing in Felda Sahabat.

Meanwhile, he said president of Pertubuhan Kebajikan Al-Ehsan, Datuk Seri Muhammad Ridzwan Sulaiman had surrendered at about 11am at the Ampang police headquaters.

He was arrested to facilitate investigations pertaining to the Sulu intrusion and could be detained up to 29 days, Hamza said.

On this note, he said police believed only about 10 remnant gunmen were left within the Kampung Sungai Bilis, Kampung Lok Sembuang and Kampung Lok Buani area.

"We are not ruling out possibilities that they have started posing as villagers but the authorities have their own methods to detect them and will arrest them soon," Hamza said.

Hamza also assured villagers, who recently have been allowed to return to their villages, of their safety as security officials were stationed around villages and other areas in Lahad Datu for security purposes.

"Our personnel are still on standby so there is no need to worry," he added.

 

[MidnightSun]

Dead militants haunting village

By Ng Si Hooi, Rahimy Rahim and A. Raman
The Star/Asia News Network
Monday, Apr 01, 2013

MALAYSIA - Security forces hunting down remnants of Sulu militants in Lahad Datu claim to have seen apparitions of dead gunmen around Kampung Tanduo, the scene of bloody clashes with the terrorists last month, Kosmo! Ahad reported.

A source told the paper that at least three ghostly figures had been sighted, appearing at around the twilight hours.

"They kept seeing the three figures, with one of them wearing a white serban (turban)," he said, adding that the phantom gunmen were seen for just a few seconds each time.

The source said there were three pits in the village where dead militants were buried and many of the bodies were found in the mass graves with amulets around their waist, purportedly to make them invincible.

 

[MidnightSun]

Tuesday April 2, 2013

Lahad Datu: ‘Datuk Seri’ sought by cops over Sulu incursion turns himself in

By SHAUN HO and STEVEN DANIEL
[email protected]

‘Datuk Seri’ Muhammad Ridhwan Sulaiman has admitted sending money to a claimant to the defunct Sulu throne, but not to Jamalul Kiram III responsible for the incursion in Sabah. The 47-year-old is being held under the Security Ordinance and Security Measures Act to help police investigate the armed intrusion.

KUALA LUMPUR: “Datuk Seri” Muhammad Ridhwan Sulaiman sought by police in connection with the Sulu incursion in Sabah has turned himself in and is being detained under the Security Ordinance and Security Measures Act 2012.

His personal assistant, Hasbiallah Hakaman, confirmed this after Muhammad Ridhwan left the police station in an unmarked police car at 5pm yesterday.

Muhammad Ridhwan, who was not handcuffed, was wearing a red baju Melayu and sarong, with a serban around his head.

The 47-year-old arrived at the Ampang Jaya district police headquarters at 11am and spoke to reporters before he was questioned by police officers.

He denied knowing Jamalul Kiram III and financing the Sulu group that landed in Sabah.

However, he admitted to having given monetary aid to a claimant of the defunct Sulu throne, the self-styled Sultan Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram.

The “Datuk Seri” title is believed to have been given by Muedzul.

According to Hasbiallah, Muhammad Ridhwan's business dealings with Muedzul were personal and had nothing to do with the Al-Ehsan Islamiah charity foundation, of which he is president.

“This was before the crisis in Sabah. He stopped contact with Muedzul after the incursion.”

Hasbiallah added that Muhammad Ridhwan had invested in a dried coconut business to help the residents of Sulu island.

Several Malay dailies carried an interview with Muhammad Ridhwan in which he admitted sending about RM8,000 a month to Muedzul from September last year until February.

Hasbiallah confirmed that Muhammad Ridhwan had been sending money to Muedzul but declined to say how much and for how long.

He said Muhammad Ridhwan was a patriot and would sacrifice his life for the country, and he established the foundation to help the needy.

Hasbiallah also said Muhammad Ridhwan was hoping to contest as an independent candidate in the Prai state seat in the coming general election.

According to sources, Muhammad Ridhwan is being detained for seven days and is now at the Shah Alam lock-up.

With his arrest, Selangor police will be assisting their Sabah counterparts in the ongoing investigation into the Sulu incursion.

 

[MidnightSun]

Sulu sultanate seeks Vatican’s help over Sabah

BY DEBRA CHONG
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
APRIL 02, 2013

Jaycel Kiram stands beside her father, Jamallul Kiram III, the self-proclaimed Sulu sultan. — Reuters file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — A Filipino Muslim clan claiming ownership over Sabah has run to the Catholic country’s bishops for help as Manila continued to dither over legal hurdles.

The Manila Standard Today daily reported Jamallul Kiram III, the self-proclaimed Sulu sultan with a historic claim on Sabah, had met with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma who heads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in the country’s capital yesterday asking to raise his clan’s woe to the attention of newly-minted Pope Francis who had reached out in friendship to Muslims all over the world last Good Friday.

“We cannot deny the influence of the CBCP,” Abraham Idjirani, the sultanate’s secretary-general and spokesman, was quoted saying after the 30-minute meeting between Jamallul and Palma.

“We need the support of the Vatican.”

Jamallul’s daughter, Jaycel Kiram was also reported thanking Palma for meeting her father and said the sultanate will provide documentary evidence to the clan’s claim before Palma leaves for Rome on April 8.

“We went here to personally thank the Bishop and to show Muslim-Christian solidarity in the Philippines,” Jaycel was quoted saying, and highlighted that a quarter of Sabah’s population is Christian.

She alleged that their human rights were being violated by Malaysian authorities, the daily repoprted.

“We have videos taken by some of the deportees in Sabah and we’ll hand this copy to the CBCP on Wednesday through Mr Jimenez and the videos will show how the Filipinos in Sabah were abused and maltreated before they were killed,” Jaycel reportedly said, referring to prominent Philippine anti-crime and human rights activist Dante Jimenez.

The Manila Standard reported the Cebu archbishop saying he could not promise much to the Kirams, but he will take up the matter with people who could help.

“Of course, they were hoping that I’m able to find a way as a bishop but I haven’t promised really much except that I will seek the advice of people who I believe can help in this situation.

“At the moment, I have no particular person in mind. I believe there are agencies in Rome that can be of service in this regard,” Palma was quoted saying.

The Catholic cleric was reported as saying, “There were Christian and Muslim ways of searching for peace” as he weighed in the Sabah crisis.

Outraged Philippine civil society groups have filed human rights violations complaints against Malaysia to the United Nations over serious allegations by returning Filipinos fleeing the month-long armed conflict raging in Sabah’s restive east coast, the Manila Times reported yesterday.

The Philippine newspaper reported concerned groups and individuals had lodged reports yesterday with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, who are both based in Geneva, Switzerland, after failing to move the Aquino administration to exert pressure on Putrajaya.

The activists were reported to have petitioned the two UN agencies to “urgently intervene so that Malaysia will respect the human rights of the Filipinos in Sabah, recognised under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

The activists were reported to have penned two 11-page letters citing media reports, particularly from the widely-read The Philippine Daily Inquirer, detailing the maltreatment of Filipinos in Sabah starting from February 14 when “suspected Filipino gunmen numbering between 80 and 100 were cornered in Sabah on Borneo Island, triggering the start of the Sabah standoff.”

The Philippine media have been highlighting the growing restlessness among Filipinos at Malaysia’s heavy-handed handling of the Sabah conflict, despite having previously assured it would practise “maximum tolerance” while Manila continues talks with the Kiram clan, a marginalised Muslim faction claiming to be heirs of the 17th-century Sulu sultanate who had been left out of peace negotiations brokered by Putrajaya last year.

Some 5,000 Filipinos have returned to their homeland with tales of human rights abuses that have enraged fellow Philippine citizens and lawmakers since the Sabah crisis began on February, triggered by Sulu rebel leader Agbimuddin Kiram’s invasion of the north Borneo state which has been under Malaysian rule for the past 50 years since 1963.

Fierce gunfights have claimed the lives of 62 Sulu militants, eight Malaysian policemen and two soldiers as of last week.

Civilians of unknown nationalities have also been reported killed in clashes, caught between the Malaysian security forces hunting down the foreign intruders and spurred thousands of Filipinos to flee Sabah for their homeland out of fear of capture.

The Philippine Senate has demanded its government hold Malaysia accountable for the possible human rights violations on the 800,000-strong Filipino migrant community in Sabah at the hands of local authorities searching for a ragtag band of Sulu militants claiming ownership of the north Borneo state.

The volatile situation in Sabah appears to be election fodder with both the Philippines and Malaysia readying for national polls this year.

 

[MidnightSun]

PH lawyers, civil society groups seek UN intervention on Sabah crisis

By Tetch Torres-Tupas
INQUIRERnet
4:17 pm | Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine lawyers and other members of civil society groups have sought the intervention of the United Nations over alleged human rights violations in Sabah.

“We respectfully submit that you consider this urgent appeal in relation to the massive and gross human rights violations committed against Filipino refugees in Sabah by Malaysian state agents,” the letters to Mr. Antonio Guterre, UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Ms. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights both dated March 21 stated.

Signatories to the letter include lawyer Harry Roque, Sister Mary John Mananzan of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, Sulu Sultanate adviser Pastor Boy Saycon and members of the Concerned Citizens Movement.

Over a thousand refugees already arrived in Tawi-Tawi from Sabah since Malaysian security forces moved in to flush out members of the so-called ‘‘Royal Security Forces’’ of the Sulu sultanate who had intruded into Sabah last month in a bid to live in the land they claim as historically theirs.

The Regional Human Rights Commission of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RHRC-ARMM) said Filipinos, particularly the Tausugs or Suluks as they are known in Sabah, had been shot, arrested and tortured even if they are not part of the Royal Security Forces.

In their letter, the signatories cited accounts of evacuees about the violations committed by Malaysian authorities. Sherilyn Viado, 20, working at a construction company, said she had to assert her ethnicity when Malaysian police ganged up on her.

“I told them I am not a Tausug but a Badjao,” she said adding that they took her earnings and allowed her to return to the Philippines.

On the other hand, Ibrahim Alih, 38, said he failed to present travel documents. Malaysian authorities told him to run but knowing they will shoot him if he did, he said he stayed but the police authorities beat him. He said they only stopped when he told him he was a Badjao and not a Tausug.

Viado said Malaysian security forces were singling out people from Sulu.

Among the violations allegedly committed by Malaysian authorities include

• Right against any discrimination
  
• Right to life, liberty and security of person
• Right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• Right against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; and
• Right to a fair trial.
  
• Aside from intervening on the crisis in Sabah, they also urged the international body to “remind Malaysia that it provide effective remedies and compensation to the Filipino victims of the massive and gross human rights violations committed against them by Malaysian state agents.”

 

[MidnightSun]

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

8 more suspects charged over intrusion

LAHAD DATU - Eight more people have been charged in connection with the Lahad Datu intrusion, bringing the total number of people charged to 16.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said the suspects were charged yesterday under Section 130 KA of the Penal Code for terrorism read with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

"They will be brought to the High Court for a hearing tomorrow," he said at the daily Ops Daulat media briefing in Felda Sahabat.

He said police believed only about 10 gunmen were left within the Kampung Sungai Bilis, Kampung Lok Sembuang and Kampung Lok Buani areas.

"We are not ruling out the possibility that they have started posing as villagers but the authorities have their own ways to detect them and will arrest them soon," Datuk Hamza said.

He also assured villagers, who were recently allowed to return to their villages, of their safety as security officials were still present around the villages and other areas in Lahad Datu for security purposes.

"Our personnel are still on standby so there is no need to worry," Datuk Hamza added.

 

[MidnightSun]

Published: Wednesday April 3, 2013 MYT 6:38:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday April 3, 2013 MYT 8:35:37 PM

Lahad Datu: Police seeking another 'Datuk Seri' to help probe on Sabah incursion

Sabah deputy Commissioner of police SAC Datuk Tan Kok Liang showing the picture of 57-year-old known as Clarence Luing Karl@ Muhammad Khalil John L Karl to help security forces into Ops Daulat investigation.

LAHAD DATU: Police are looking for a second Datuk Seri to facilitate investigations pertaining to the Lahad Datu intrusion.

Sabah Deputy Commissioner of Police SAC Datuk Tan Kok Liang said the 57-year-old known as Clarence Luing Karl@ Muhammad Khalil John L Karl was needed to help security forces in the continuing Ops Daulat investigation.

"Clarence's last address was in Kampung Bawang, Tamparuli, about 45 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu town," he said during the daily Ops Daulat media briefing here Wednesday.

Tan urged Clarence to surrender himself and also sought assistance from members of the public who knew the wanted man's whereabouts.

Initial investigations found that the Datuk Seri is still in Sabah.

The first Datuk Seri, known as Muhammad Ridhwan Sulaiman, was wanted by the police on March 31 in relation to the intrusion.

Muhammad Ridhwan surrendered himself at the Ampang Jaya police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur the next day, although he denied being involved in anyway to the self-proclaimed Sulu sultan Jamalul Kiram III.

 

[MidnightSun]

Saturday April 6, 2013

Lahad Datu: Local man held over Sulu incursion

LAHAD DATU: A local man has been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) as the hunt for remnants of Sulu terrorists continues.

The 38-year-old man was detained in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, yesterday afternoon in Ops Daulat, said Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Tan Kok Liang.

Police also detained a 45-year-old woman in possession of an identity card from the Sulu sultanate in Kampung Sungai Bilis, Felda Sabahat, near here.

“We are still investigating their involvement in the intrusion,” he told a press conference at Ops Daulat base in Felda Sahabat 16, near here.

Meanwhile, another mobile police station was placed in Kampung Tan*jung Labian and Kampung Tanjung Batu yesterday morning to increase public confidence.

Tan said that as of 1pm yesterday, 20 police reports had been made on loss of property owing to the acts by the terrorists as several houses were razed.

 

[MidnightSun]

Monday April 8, 2013

Lahad Datu: Two more held under Sosma

LAHAD DATU: Two men have been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act in Tanjung Baru, Pulau Bumbum, Semporna as the hunt for remnants of Sulu intruders continues.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said both men, in their 50s, were not Malaysians.

Hamza said a file containing two letters from the Sulu Sultan and dangerous weapons were seized during the 6.30am raid yesterday.

“Their arrest could link them to terrorists activities,” said Hamza in a text message sent to the Ops Daulat media unit here.

According to the text message, the number of suspects detained under the Act had increased to 135 while the number of terrorists shot dead remains at 70. — Bernama

 

[MidnightSun]

32 unidentified armed intruders nabbed off Sabah waters, weapons seized

Lahad Datu standoff News 2013-04-09 10:24

KOTA KINABALU, April 8 (Bernama) -- Quick action by the Malaysian security forces foiled another possible intrusion into Sabah by 32 unidentified armed assailants.

Security forces spotted a boat carrying 32 intruders who were armed with firearms, barong knives, axes and several documents before intercepting the boat about 12 nautical miles from Tambisan, Lahad Datu, early this morning.

The 32 unidentified intruders were detained and weapons such as fire arms, barong knives, axes and several documents, seized.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said the men were detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

"We have not identified their nationality yet," he said during a press conference at the Kota Kinabalu Police Headquarters, here, today.

Hamza reiterated that all the districts in Sabah were under control and rubbished allegations that another 100 armed intruders had entered the state.

"We have tightened security around Sabah waters and the security forces have the situation well under control," he said.

On Feb 12, a group of armed men from southern Philippines intruded Lahad Datu, declaring themselves as strong supporters of the Sulu Sultanate, but were later involved in a gun battle with the Malaysian security forces, causing much bloodshed.

Meanwhile, the Forensic team discovered another 15 bodies at Kampung Tanduo near Lahad Datu and made preparations to remove them from the Southern Philippines militant base this evening.

These were the bodies from a previous battle between the security forces and militant group which could not be removed earlier due to security reasons, he added.

 

[MidnightSun]

Sulu official denies 32 sultanate supporters nabbed in Sabah

By Jaime Laude (philstar.com) | Updated April 9, 2013 - 4:24pm

MANILA, Philippines - A senior leader in Sulu belied reports that Malaysian authorities arrested 32 armed Filipinos entering Lahad Datu, Sabah to reinforce the Royal Sultanate Force (RSF) on Monday.

Malaysian state media Bernama, quoting the police commissioner in Sabah, reported that Filipinos from Mindanao armed with firearms and machetes arrested 12 nautical miles from the east coast of Lahad Datu.

“Hindi totoo yan na may nahuli sila doon sa mga nag-reinforce sa Sabah,” the Sulu-based source, who asked not to be named because he is currently occupying a sensitive government position.

He described Bernama’s news report as plain propaganda being dished out by Malaysian officials to make it appear that they are in total control of the security situation on the ground.

Closely monitoring the development in Sabah, the source pointed out that the current security situation in the area remains highly fragile as several groups of heavily armed men from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan have been able to enter Sabah tgo reinforce the group of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.

“But a full-blown conflict in Sabah can still be reversed through peaceful dialogues between the Malaysian government and the Sulu Sultanate. Kung walang pag-uusap na mangyayari dyan, sasakit ang ulo ng Malaysian leadership dyan,” he said.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) alswo said that not a single member of the group that sailed to Sabah without prior clearance to their leadership, has been arrested by Malaysian military and police authorities.

MNLF political bureau chief, Haji Gapul Hajirul stressed that it is not in the nature of Tausugs to just surrender. He said Tausugs would rather die fighting than allow themselves to be arrrested.

“Walang report na ganyan dito sa amin,” Hajirul said referring to the supposed arrest of their fighters, who have already sailed to Sabah to join the fighting.

MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari himself has formed a 5,000-strong rescue force, all of them under going retraining in Sulu prior to their deployment any time this month to Sabah, to assist and defend ordinary Filipinos being maltreated by Malaysian security forces.

The Sulu-based source, however, described Misuari’s posturing simply as a publicity stunt. The official said that only a handful MNLF members remain loyal to the chieftain.

“Wala na syang pwersa, papano niya gagawin 'yun? Gusto lang niyang magpapansin siguro,” the source said.

 

[MidnightSun]

Published: Tuesday April 9, 2013 MYT 7:40:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday April 9, 2013 MYT 8:32:56 PM

Lahad Datu: Cops to use dogs to find Sulu intruders’ graves

LAHAD DATU: K9 dog units would be used to detect graves of Sulu intruders, said Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Tan Kok Lian.

"We will check the area because there may still be some bodies buried in the village," he said after surveying several locations in Kampung Tanduo near here Tuesday.

Police discovered three graves containing 15 bodies, including that of a woman, and removed them from the village Monday.

He added that although the area was considered free of any terrorist elements, the security forces were still on alert and had no plans to wrap up their operations yet. - Bernama

 

[MidnightSun]

Published: Wednesday April 10, 2013 MYT 9:15:00 PM

Lahad Datu: Nine more detained in Beluran over Sabah incursion

By STEPHANIE LEE

KOTA KINABALU: Nine people, including two locals, have been picked up in Beluran to probe into their possible links to the Sulu intrusion in Sabah.

The nine, including two women and seven men, were arrested separately at about 8pm on Tuesday and 10am on Wednesday.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said the suspects, aged between the 20s and 50s, were detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

"They will be investigated under the special offences, and this brings the total number of suspects detained under the offence to 181 people," he said in a press conference at the Kepayan police headquarters here yesterday (Wednesday).

Hamza said the suspects were found with weapons, documents and about RM1,000 when they were arrested.

"There was, however, no exchange of gunfire when they were arrested," he added.

Hamza said investigations on the 32 foreigners arrested in a boat near Tambisan and the self-styled "Datuk Seri" Clarence Luing Karl @ Muhammad Khalil John L Karl, who was caught on April 5, were continuing.

Meanwhile, he denied that Filipinos were being abused by security forces in Sabah as claimed by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chief Nur Misuari.

"They can say whatever they want but as far as we are concerned, no Filipino is being abused," he said.

"Even dead bodies of the Sulu gunmen were buried with dignity and according to religious rights. We don't even want to kill them if possible," he said.

 

[MidnightSun]

09 April 2013| last updated at 05:17PM

LAHAD DATU: Malaysia, Philippine exchange info on intruders

SANDAKAN: Malaysian and Philippine security forces are exchanging information on the arrested militants from southern Philippines linked to the armed intrusion incident in Kampung Tanduo, Tungku in Lahad Datu, according to Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

With regard to those arrested by the Philippine security forces, he said, before they were brought to court, all information from the investigations on the individuals involved would be given to Malaysia for it to know the background and the reasons for the intrusion.

He said likewise, Malaysia would be relaying information to Manila on those intruders arrested by its own security forces.

"For us, this exchange of information is not aimed at interfering in the Philippine domestic politics but it is smart cooperation between the two countries," he said after visiting the Sandakan Prison, here, today.

Ahmad Zahid said the Philippines which would be holding its elections in the middle of May, did not want the intrusion incident in Lahad Datu to have a negative impact on the current administration's campaign.

He said cooperation between the two neighbouring countries following the Lahad Datu incident was only for mutual benefit.

Earlier, in his speech when visiting the KD Sri Sandakan, Royal Malaysian Navy base here, Ahmad Zahid thanked the Philippine government for assisting Malaysia by enhancing surveillance in the waters between both countries following the incident in February.

He said the Philippine Navy and the coast guards had given their full cooperation, resulting in the arrest of 35 Sulu militants who tried to flee Sabah. -- BERNAMA

 

[MidnightSun]

MNLF training camp for Sabah rescue operation

April 10, 2013

Veteran combat fighters are training recruits to rescue Filipinos stranded in Sabah.

JOLO: In a camp set up by the Moro National Liberation Front in this part of southern Philippines, recruits are being trained by veteran combat fighters “to rescue” thousands of Filipinos allegedly being abused by Malaysian security forces in Sabah.

MNLF chairman Nur Misuari gave News5 an exclusive peek into the ongoing training for members of “Operation Rescue”" as he claimed they were ready to “sustain a war for a hundred years” if necessary.

The online news portal InterAksyon.com quotes Misuari, founder of the original Moro insurgent force in the 1960s, as saying that 1,000 of their men are already in Sabah.

Misuari stressed that their troops are not allied with the Royal Sultanate Army but have as their main mision the “rescue” of Filipinos allegedly being “abused” by Malaysia. Over 60 Filipinos have died in the standoff, and thousands others are feared caught in the crackdown.

Separate from Misuari’s statements, members of the self-styled “Royal Security Force of the Sulu Sultanate” who remain holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, claimed to have received additional reinforcements from sympathisers in the Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas.

Abraham Idjirani, sultanate spokesman and secretary general, claimed in a phone interview that as of Tuesday, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and his Royal Security Force are 400-strong, after dwindling to just over 160 in the face of heavy Malaysian assault.

Idjirani said more Filipinos went to Sabah on March 29 and April 5 on board boats, able to slip past the naval blockade set up by both the Philippines and Malaysia.

He said “70 to 80 percent” of those who went there were reportedly armed. He said these Filipinos went there on their own due to “accumulated anger” after their loved ones in Sabah were either allegedly killed or harassed by Malaysians.

Idjirani’s claims could not be independently verified, and Philippine military officials have said that naval forces are in place to block any such attempts to reinforce the sultanate’s followers in Sabah.

At the MNLF camp, trainees were being instructed on the use of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Sulu Gov. Abdulsakur Tan cautioned Misuari against any rash actions, while a military spokesman warned that the supposed rescue plans, if carried out, would go against Philippine policies on the Sabah standoff.

-Agencies

 

[MidnightSun]

Thursday April 11, 2013

Lahad Datu: Malaysians among nine more held over Sulu intrusion

KOTA KINABALU: Two Malaysians were among nine people picked up in the Sandakan town of Beluran over possible links to the Sulu intrusion.

The nine two women and seven men were arrested separately at about 8pm on Tuesday and 10am on Wednesday.

Sabah police chief Comm Datuk Hamza Taib said the suspects, aged between 20 and 50, were detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

“This brings the total number of suspects detained under the offence to 181 people,” he said at the Kepayan police headquarters here yesterday.

Hamza said the suspects were found with weapons, documents and about RM1,000.

Hamza said investigations into the 32 foreigners arrested on a boat near Tambisan and the self-styled “Datuk Seri” Clarence Luing Karl @ Muhammad Khalil John L Karl, who was caught on April 5, were ongoing.

 

[MidnightSun]

Published: Thursday April 11, 2013 MYT 10:45:00 AM
Updated: Thursday April 11, 2013 MYT 1:17:01 PM

Lahad Datu: Detained ‘Datuk Seri' files habeas corpus application for release

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH

Muhammad Ridhwan Sulaiman

GEORGE TOWN: Muhammad Ridhwan Sulaiman filed an application of habeas corpus through his wife, Nur Rina Abdullah, at a High Court here on Thursday.

Muhammad Ridhwan, who was recently suspended from his position as president of the Al-Ehsan Islamiah Charity Association Malaysia (Al-Ehsan), was detained on April 1 under the Security Ordinance and Security Measures Act 2012 after turning himself in to Kuala Lumpur police.

He was sought for alleged links to the Sulu gunmen's incursion in Sabah.

Counsel Datuk C.V. Prabhakaran said Muhammad was not a terrorist.

"He's a charitable person. The money he sent was to Sultan Muedzul-lail Tan Kiram and not to Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.

"His detention was unfair and not according to the law.

"This application is for him to be brought to court and released as he is not guilty under that Act," he said.

 

[MidnightSun]

Published: Thursday April 11, 2013 MYT 1:20:00 PM
Updated: Thursday April 11, 2013 MYT 4:05:12 PM

Lahad Datu: Police not likely to charge 32 Filipinos who drifted into Sabah waters (Updated)

By STEPHANIE LEE

KOTA KINABALU: Police are recommending that the 32 Filipinos arrested for illegally entering Sabah waters not be charged, as the group, believed to be a politician and his supporters, had inadvertently drifted into the area.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said initial investigations revealed that the group detained may be part of a team of campaigners in the ongoing Philippine mayoral election.

Police were, however, awaiting confirmation of this from the Philippines Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

"We have opened up an investigation paper and referred it to the Senior Federal Council (SFC), but will recommend that the 32 not be charged," he said Thursday, after receiving a contribution from the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd.

The contribution totalling RM27,736.85 was for family members of security forces killed during the Sulu gunmen intrusion in Lahad Datu and Semporna last month.

"We are waiting for an official letter from the embassy to verify that these men were on their way to the Taganak Islands to campaign for the mayoral election for Tawi-Tawi when they were arrested near Tambisan in Lahad Datu at about 2am on Monday," Hamza said.

Hamza Taib said although initial investigations showed that the men were not involved in the Sulu intrusion, police were still detaining them under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

"Under Ops Daulat, those who enter Sabah illegally bearing weapons will be detained and investigated under the security offences, although we know that in the Philippines, people having guns and weapons is like us having a handphone," he said.

He was responding to news reports in the Philippines that a town mayor of Tawi-Tawi who is running for re-election under the administration's Liberal Party (LP), his running mate and supporters were detained Monday by Malaysian authorities, near Lahad Datu, the coastal village in Sabah where fighters of the Sulu sultanate had earlier battled Malaysian security forces.

The number of people detained under the security offences over the Sabah incursion by Sulu terrorists is 183, while those arrested under other acts remained at 354.

 

[MidnightSun]

11 April 2013| last updated at 12:08AM

9 linked to armed intruders held

By KRISTY INUS | [email protected]

RAIDS: Those arrested in Beluran are 7 men and 2 women

Villagers of Kampung Labian bidding farewell to the security forces leaving their village after a month of being stationed there to look after their safety. Pic by Edmund Samunting

KOTA KINABALU: POLICE arrested seven men and two women at two separate locations in Beluran, believed to be linked to the armed Sulu gunmen.

Among those arrested were seven foreigners, including a middle-aged woman. Sabah police chief Datuk Hamza Taib said raids were carried out on Tuesday night and yesterday morning, without disclosing specific locations.

"We suspect they have information involving the Sulu gunmen from southern Philippines, and investigations are now being carried out under Section 4 (1) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012.

"They are being detained at the Sandakan police station and if there is enough evidence, they will be charged soon," said Hamza. He said during the arrests, some of them were found to have documents and about RM1,500 with them. Police also seized several machetes.

"This is something new. Previously the arrests were in Lahad Datu, Tawau, Sandakan and other districts. Beluran is also a district under Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (Esszone)," Hamza said.

He said while 235 armed intruders have been identified since the Feb 12 intrusion at Kampung Tanduo, security forces continue to nab sympathisers and informants of the armed intruders.

"They could be anywhere in Sabah, not only at ground zero. "To date, 181 individuals have been arrested under Sosma and 334 under other offences."

On another development, he said 17 bodies of the gunmen who were killed during gun battles with security forces, were buried yesterday at several undisclosed locations.

Hamza said they were accorded proper Islamic burial rites.

 

[MidnightSun]

Published: Friday April 12, 2013 MYT 5:48:00 PM
Updated: Friday April 12, 2013 MYT 6:26:18 PM

Lahad Datu: Police release 32 Filipinos who drifted into Sabah waters

By STEPHANIE LEE

KOTA KINABALU: The 32 foreigners arrested near Tambisan in Lahad Datu have been released and escorted back to the Philippines after their identities were confirmed.

Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Hamza Taib said the Filipino group consist a politician and his supporters for the Tawi-Tawi ongoing mayoral elections in the Philippines.

“The group had inadvertently drifted from their route about 12 nautical miles away from Tambisan at about 2am on April 8 when they were apprehended by Malaysian marine police,” he said.

“We have released and escorted them back on their boat to the Philippine sea borders at about 5pm on Thursday,” he said after a promotion ceremony headed by Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar at the state police headquarters on Friday.

Hamza said the Filipino group were on their way to the Taganak Islands to campaign for the mayoral election for Tawi-Tawi when their boat developed engine problems.

The 32 detained men armed with firearms and other weapons were earlier detained and investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

Meanwhile, he said four more people have been charged in the Tawau high court for engaging in terrorist activities in Sabah and for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

This brings the total number of men charged under the section to 20.

Earlier, Ismail urged all the police continue giving their best to the community and improve in terms of strategy planning for the security of the state.