Lahad Datu News Compilation Thread

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 11:44:00 AM
Updated: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 12:02:09 PM

Lahad Datu: Police - No enemy tunnels found in Kg Tanduo

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have denied claims by Kampung Tanduo residents that the armed Sulu intruders from southern Philippines had entered the village through a tunnel built in November last year.

"So far, we have not received any information about the existence of the tunnel.

"In fact, when the military carried out air raids we did not find any underground tunnel, what we saw were merely cars that were destroyed," Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said when contacted on the Malaysia Hari Ini (MHI) programme aired live on TV3 Monday.

He was commenting on the report by a local daily that quoted a resident of Kampung Tanduo as saying that the Sulu intruders had carried out detailed planning when entering the village, including constructing the tunnel.

The residents claimed that the intruders used excavating machines to dig the hole as though they were looking for gold, but it was a ploy to build a fortress and tunnel as a hiding place when under attack.

Asked if the Sulu intruders were only hiding around Kampung Tanduo and Kampung Tanjung Batu, Hamzah said: "(We) can't assume that they (intruders) are only in the two villages".

Commenting on the incident where a boy died while another man was injured in the foot after being shot by members of the security forces in an operation to hunt down the intruders in Kampung Sungai Bilis Sunday, Hamza said the incident occurred in the operation zone.

He pointed out that whenever the security forces were in an operation area, they always maintained a high level of preparedness and would not give space for the enemy to launch a counter-attack.

"In whatever circumstances, we will react and that is the reason why the security forces always remind the public not to be near an operation area," he added. - Bernama

 

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 11:56:00 AM
Updated: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 12:51:55 PM

Lahad Datu: 22 more bodies of militants removed from Kampung Tanduo

By SHAUN HO

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib speaking to reporters during a press conference at Felda Sahabat Residence. - M. Azhar Arif/The Star.

LAHAD DATU: Security forces have removed 22 more bodies of Sulu militants from Kampung Tanjung Batu and Semporna, and recorded another gunman shot dead, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said Monday.

The bodies were sent to the Tawau Hospital and Lahad Datu Hospital for forensic investigations and post mortem, he added.

The gunman was shot in Kampung Tajung Batu on Sunday after two policemen were injured during sporadic shooting, bringing the death toll among the Sulu intruders to 54.

This brings the number of injured personnel to five.

Comm Hamza also said six more people have been detained for suspected links to the terrorists, bringing the total to 97 detained under Second 130(C) of the Security Offences and Special Measures Act 2012.

Another 125 people have also been detained for trying to enter areas where operations were being conducted.

Comm Hamza added that mopping up operations in Kampung Tanduo had ended and and security forces were in the final stages of clearing out any remaining gunmen.

"We are now focusing on Kampung Tanjung Batu and Sungai Bilis areas. Hopefully, we can finish soon and allow villagers to go home," he said.

 

[BlackRiders]

11 March 2013| last updated at 12:18PM

Najib: Govt to equalise salary scale of armed forces, police with that of public service

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak attends the 13th Public Service Premier Gathering (MAPPA XIII) at Plenary Hall, Putrajaya InternationalConvention Centre (PICC).

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak says the government has agreed to equalise the salary scale of armed forces and police personnel to correspond with the salary grades in the public service.

The salary scale restructuring is retroactive from Jan 1, 2013.

Najib gave an example that a corporal in the security forces who was in Grade 13, will now be in the grade 22 under the public service salary scale.

Among the other ranks affected are corporals, sargeants, captains, major, colonels.

 

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 12:16:00 PM
Updated: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 12:18:59 PM

Lahad Datu: 54 schools reopen after police give green light

LAHAD DATU: Fifty-four schools - five here and 49 in Semporna - resumed lessons Monday after police deemed the situation in the area to be safe and under control.

Lahad Datu police chief Supt Shamsuddin Mat said the five schools in Lahad Datu were SK Tambisan, SK Sahabat 16, SK Sahabat 4, SK Cenderawasih and SMK Desa Kencana.

"Three schools remain closed in Lahad Datu because they are situated in the red zone. They are SK Lok Buani, SK Fajar Harapan and SK Tanjung Labian," he said Monday.

However, a survey at SK Sahabat 4 found student attendance low as many parents were still unaware the schools had reopened.

"About 80 students and 10 teachers were present today (Monday)," said SK Sahabat 4 senior assistant 1 Mohamad Ostad Ulang, adding that the school has 373 students and 29 teachers.

It was also the same in Semporna, where only 200 pupils attended SK Simunul's morning session.

School headmistress Sarudah Arun said the school, which has 1,321 pupils, has a morning and evening session.

The schools were closed on March 4, after an ambush in Kampung Simunul on March 2 left six policemen and six intruders dead.

Following that, Sarudah said 30 out of 81 teachers requested for replacement leave to return to their hometowns. - Bernama

 

[BlackRiders]

Stop defending Malaysia’s attack on Sulu invaders, local daily tells Aquino

BY CLARA CHOOI
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
MARCH 11, 2013

The Aquino administration has come under heavy fire in the Philippines for taking a step back as Malaysia launched its all-out assault “Ops Daulat” last Tuesday. — Reuters file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Philippine President Benigno Aquino III should stop “lawyering” for Malaysia or threatening legal action against the Sulu invaders in Sabah, local daily Manila Standard Today (MST) said in a special memo to the republic’s chief executive today.

The broadsheet told the president that it was because of his administration’s alleged failure in diplomacy that more and more Filipinops are allegedly facing persecution in Sabah as Malaysian authorities widen its dragnet to stop the Sulu invasion.

“Stop lawyering for the Malaysians. They may be your friends but they are guided by their own national interests, as we should be,” the daily said in the memo.

“The last thing that your countrymen wish to hear out of your mouth is a defence of the Malaysian attacks.”

The Aquino administration has come under heavy fire in the Philippines for taking a step back as Malaysia launched its all-out assault “Ops Daulat” last Tuesday to flush out the group of Sulu rebels who landed in Sabah a month ago to lay claim over the state.

Bombs and heavy artillery fire were rained down by Malaysian fighter jets over areas where the rebels were believe to be hiding in Sabah, nearly obliterating the small coastal village of Kampung Tanduo.

Ground troops were sent in after and mopping up operations began, resulting in small skirmishes that saw more Sulu gunmen falling from Malaysian fire over the week. As of yesterday, the death toll stood at 62 — 53 Sulu militants, eight Malaysian policemen and an unidentified teenager.

The Kiram family then called for ceasefire but this was immediately rejected by Malaysia who insisted that every single one of their rebels are either killed or arrested to face the full force of the law.

Aquino has also ordered a probe into the suspicion that the rebels, led by the Sulu Sultanate, are being guided by larger political powers aiming to topple his leadership in the coming mid-term polls in the Philippines.

The government has already begun the investigation, with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) issuing a subpeona on Pastor “Boy” Saycon, an adviser to the self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Saycon will appear before the NBI for questioning tomorrow.

The Aquino administration has also announced that the Kiram family may be charged with “inciting war or giving motives for reprisals” under Article 118 of the country’s Revised Penal code, apart from the “illegal possession of firearms, violations of the election gun ban and illegal assembly”, among others.

After facing charges in the Philippines, the Sultan and his men may be hauled to Malaysia for more punishment, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima reportedly said last week, once the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) studies laws here and in the Philippines on the possibility of extradition.

Citing these moves, MST said the Philippine government has only worsening an already deepening crisis that has now turned into an all-out guerrila war in Lahad Datu.

The local daily told Aquino not to pour more fuel into the fire, “unless it is a conflagration you wish to create”.

“With hindsight, it was probably not the wisest thing to ask the sultan’s followers to return to the Philippines and then threaten them in the same breath with arrest and prosecution,” the paper told the president in the memo.

In the early days of negotiation, Aquino had urged the Sultan to call his men back to the Philippines, promising to look into the Sultanate’s claim over Sabah in peaceful manner.

“Your attack dogs in the Justice Department (DOJ) have continued in this vein, announcing to the world that they are ‘building an airtight case’ against the sultan, rendering any appeals to stand down ineffectual and ultimately meaningless.

“And for goodness sake, with at least 10 Filipinos dead at the hands of a foreign power, do not refer to the conflict as ‘a propaganda war’,” MST added.

The paper added that Aquino’s hardline stance against the Sulu invaders may have scored the him some brownie points for appearing tough and resolute but to his detractors, the president had left zero room for manoeuvre.

It pointed out that Aquino had refused to meet with the Sultan unless the latter agreed to pull his men from Sabah.

“We are not schoolchildren trying to show who can shoot higher on the schoolyard wall. Let us stop behaving as if we were,” MST said.

It concluded the memo by urging Aquino to deliver on his promise of openness to receiving advice, saying, “we... do hope you will heed it from time to time.”

The armed incursion into Sabah by the Sulu rebels enters its 30th day today.

 

[BlackRiders]

11 March 2013| last updated at 04:35PM

LAHAD DATU: Semporna Hospital denies report on gunmen

SEMPORNA -- The Semporna Hospital has denied a report that four Filipino gunmen turned up at the mortuary last Wednesday to demand the bodies of their comrades killed in skirmishes with the security forces in Simunul.

Its director, Dr Amran Japar said there was no truth in the report for the hospital was being guarded by a police team after the shootout on March 2.

"Please do not create and disseminate false news or information for it can instil fear in the people and deter them from visiting the hospital," he told Bernama.

An English daily reported that the hospital had been closed since last Wednesday after the visit by four men armed with M-16 assault rifles.

The daily said the gunmen left after being told that the bodies had been sent to hospitals in other towns.

Meanwhile, Semporna police chief DSP Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah said thepolice did not receive any report on the presence of four Filipino gunmen at the Semporna Hospital.

"Let me remind the media. Do not believe in rumours, and do not spread fake news," he added. -- BERNAMA

 

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 3:17:00 PM

Lahad Datu: Public urged to donate to families of fallen heroes

By MUGUNTAN VANAR

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman has urged the public to donate to a special fund for the families of the killed policemen in Lahad Datu and Semporna.

Donations can be made through the state security council office.

The public can contact the office at 088-488500 or 013-4821604 and 013-3060106 for further information on how to go about donating. Musa also announced that the first phase of the special security area covering east coast districts from Kudat to Tawau has been named Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESS Com).

“Further details on ESS Com for its phase one implementation will be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak very soon,” he said after chairing the state security working committee meeting on Monday.

Musa said Sabahans had shown their support on the special security area being set up, as it would help monitor the activities of people along the 1,400 km coastline.

“This is also our way of showing our fallen heroes and security forces that their sacrifices are appreciated,” he said.

 

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 3:58:00 PM
Updated: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 4:07:20 PM

Lahad Datu: Zahid denies allegations Filipinos in Sabah being mistreated during Ops Daulat

GOMBAK: The Defence Ministry has denied allegations that Filipinos in Sabah are being mistreated and shot at by local security forces in search of Sulu armed militants in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that he received no reports of security forces aiming at or abusing those of Sulu descent living in Lahad Datu.

"I believe that these are just more baseless allegations. If there is any shooting, the police and the armed forces will make the necessary announcements," he told reporters after launching the Mahallah LTAT ground breaking ceremony, at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) here on Monday.

 

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 4:06:00 PM

Lahad Datu: Tanduo declared clean, 97 militants captured in Ops Daulat

LAHAD DATU: The police announced on Monday that Tanduo, the landing site of militant intruders a month ago, is free of the Sulu gunmen.

Security forces are now focusing on getting rid of the remaining militant intruders in the Tanjung Batu and Sungai Bilis areas.

On Sunday, a terrorist was shot dead in Kampung Tanjung Batu, making the total number of militant intruders killed 54.

Ninety-seven people were detained for suspected involvement with the gunmen, said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib.

He said security forces also held 122 people for being in the prohibited zone of Ops Daulat.

On March 8, security forces launched an offensive against the terrorist group, followed by a search to hunt them down.

Speaking at a press conference with Army Infantry Division Commander Mej-Gen Datuk Ahmad Zaki Mokhtar here, Hamza said the bodies of 22 terrorists were sent to the hospital for post-mortem.

He also allowed journalists to take pictures of the bodies to preempt allegations of certain groups questioning the number of terrorists killed.

Hamza rubbished the claim that the self-proclaimed Raja Muda Azzimuddie Kiram, who headed the intrusion, had escaped the security forces dragnet in Semporna.

"If I knew he was in Semporna, I would have long captured him," he said, also denying reports that security forces subjected the Sulu community to brutality.

To date, no police report has been made against security forces that its members had used violence, he added.-Bernama

 

[BlackRiders]

Content Warning : This official website of Team Kiram is poorly designed and contains gory images and splattered brains.

http://www.sandakan.com/


"The armed Royal Sulu Sabah Army (RSSA) was watching us’

The Star photographer Normimie Diun and a group of journalists had a close encounter with a gunman as they were heading towards the frontline yesterday morning. They were about 3km away from a place where elite police and military units were flushing out remnants of the Sulu armed group when she saw a gunman in the oil palm plantation.

This is her first person account:

“At around 9.30am, I decided to drive We (journalists in two cars) headed to our usual spot, a junction to the red zone (where the armed forces are conducting their operations against Sulu gunmen hiding in two coastal villages).

It is where you can photograph suspects being led away or see military and police vehicles coming in and going out.

Usually, there is a police roadblock manned by two or three policemen who will not allow civilians to enter the red zone, located about 15km away. There are also snipers hiding around the area.

But when we arrived there was no police roadblock. We decided to drive on after seeing a villager on a motorcycle coming out of the road. We thought it was safe as it looked like the situation there had gone back to normal.

As we drove on, we still did not see any policemen, and so we became more confident that the situation in the no-entry zone was back to normal. After driving for 2km, we arrived at a village with about 200 wooden and concrete houses.

But the village was deserted and doors of the houses were mostly wide open. I told my colleagues to be careful as there was nobody in the village and it could be occupied by armed intruders.

Then I saw several Afghan shawls on the clothesline – the black-and-white ones – and I noticed that there were no children’s clothes. I said to myself: ‘The armed intruders are here.’

We quickly left the place and drove in the direction of Tanjung Batu to find areas where our armed forces were present. As we passed, I saw a shadow of a man squatting among oil palm trees on the left side of the road, about 10m from our car. I said that I had seen a man.

Serieffa (Mushtafa Al Bakry, the Al-Hijrah television news journalist) who was driving the car said he too saw the man holding a gun. I looked again at the man and noticed that he was holding a gun that looked like an M-16. He was dressed in black and looked like he was in his 50s.

I saw that he was staring at us. He looked like a typical villager but he was holding a gun. My companions wanted to shoot the armed man (with their cameras). I shouted to them: ‘Don’t!’ I also told them to keep down and put away their cameras.

My immediate thought was that he could mistake our equipment as weapons and fire at us. In the car we kept saying ‘Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar’ (God is great, God is great) as Serieffa slammed the accelerator and sped off at 120kph.

As we reached the main Felda road, we came across about 300 frightened villagers They had heard four gunshots just minutes earlier. One of them, Achar, said they were told by their village chief to remain in the area despite advice from Malaysian authorities to evacuate on Monday.

In my 17 years with The Star as a photographer, this is the first time I had come face-to-face with a gunman in a battle zone.”

 

[BlackRiders]

Content Warning : This official website of Team Kiram is poorly designed and contains gory images and splattered brains.

http://www.sandakan.com/


A Solution for Sabah

A pundit who should know better asks in his column: If Malaysia owns Sabah, why does it pay rent to the Sulu sultanate? That’s because Malaysia recognizes the proprietary rights of the sultanate to Sabah. If a person has a private property in another country, that person has a right to some economic benefit from its use. But Malaysia reserves for itself the right of sovereignty — the right to govern Sabah.

To those who say that the sultanate of Sulu doesn’t exist, the government of Malaysia is too intelligent to pay rent to an imaginary sultanate. The Philippine foreign secretary isn’t so stupid as to apologize for a misplaced letter to a figment of the imagination. The sultanate is poor and might have made a tragic mistake in breaking Malaysian law by sending its people to settle in Sabah. But it exists.

On the recent bloody events in Sabah, it can be argued that Malaysia did what it had to. But President Aquino of the Philippines could’ve done better than to summon the sultan of Sulu and say, “If you are really their leader, then recall your people…” and then threaten him with “the full force of the laws of the land.”

The British Raj, and more recently the American military in Iraq and Afghanistan, made the same mistake by snubbing the traditional rulers.

In Muslim Mindanao, the adat (customary law) reigns supreme, with Shariah coming in second, and the laws of the republic a poor third. Manila-made laws don’t scare a Tausug sultan. A promise to include him in negotiations with Malaysia could have been persuasive.

As for the Philippine claim to Sabah, its strength lies in the sanctity of contracts and the principle that you can’t pass on what you don’t have. Neither the Austrian adventurer to whom Sabah was leased, nor the British merchant who bought the rights under that lease were sovereign entities. They couldn’t have passed on a sovereignty they never had.

That’s why when the British company was granted a Royal Charter in 1881 and the Spanish and the Dutch governments protested, the British government explained in no uncertain terms that the British company was only administering the territory and that “sovereignty remains with the sultan of Sulu.”

But the situation on the ground favors Malaysia. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. The stakes are uneven. If the Philippines lost its Sabah claim, Filipino pride would be wounded. But if Malaysia lost the territory, the ensuing political cataclysm would be intolerable. Besides, the Philippines couldn’t feasibly govern Sabah; it would enjoy some popular support but the opposition would be enormous and bloody.

Both governments came close to a solution in the mid-1990s when former President Ramos proposed, as part of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (Bimp-Eaga), the formation of a public-private corporation that would economically uplift the heirs of the Sulu sultanate.

With a virtually boundless Bimp-Eaga gaining strength, and the public-private corporation flourishing, the Philippines would be able to set aside its Sabah claim forever, or simply drop it. The Malaysian side showed keen interest in the proposal.

Before the Philippine government could craft its details, Ramos’s term came to a close in 1998, and he was succeeded by a movie actor interested only in the bottle. For years, the sultanate was ignored or forgotten. Finally, in his frustration, Sultan Jamalul sent some 200 followers on a doomed mission to “reclaim” their “homeland.”

There’s no reason why both governments today can’t quickly launch negotiations based on the Ramos proposal — not to decide who has sovereignty over Sabah, but to simply bring closure to the issue in a manner that is honorable and satisfactory to all stakeholders, including the sultanate of Sulu and all the people of Sabah.

---

Jamil Maidan Flores is a Jakarta-based writer whose interests include philosophy and foreign policy. He is also an English-language consultant for the Indonesian government. The views expressed here are his own.

 

[BlackRiders]

11 March 2013| last updated at 05:46PM

LAHAD DATU: Stop cession payment immediately - Karpal

KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyer Karpal Singh wants the government to immediately halt the annual 'cession payment' of RM5,300 to the self-proclaimed heir of the Sulu Sultanate.

He viewed the payment as a mistake, especially after Sabah gained its independence, adding that the so-called descendents of the sultanate had no locus standi in receiving such payment.

"Only the Philippine Government made some move in making claims over territorial rights of Sabah to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but after the official visit of its former president, Ferdinand Marcos, in the late1960's and conduct of subsequent administrations up to now, they have already waived any such territorial right claims.

"This can clearly be seen from both governments which agreed to upgrade diplomatic contacts from consulate to ambassadorial status, (which proved that) the independence of Sabah was recognised by the Philippine Government," he said when met at the Court Complex here today.

Karpal also said he agreed with the government's firm stand that there should be no negotiation with the Filipino intruders, and the use of force to flush them out from Sabah.

"Security forces should not allow for any further security lapses by immediately removing all the extremist elements which might still exist inSabah," he added. -- BERNAMA

 

[BlackRiders]

11 March 2013| last updated at 05:51PM

LAHAD DATU: Felda activities running smoothly

MALACCA: Activities in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu, Sabah is running smoothly and operating as usual, said Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad.

Felda always follow the advice of security forces involved in Op Daulat for the safety of settlers and to avoid disturbing the operation against foreign terrorists.

"It depends on the location, situation and advice given by the police and armed forces. If they say we can operate, we proceed but if otherwise, we don't," he told reporters after launching Felda Foundation's 'Kami Prihatin' programme with Bukit Katil parliamentary constituency here today.

Present were the MP for Bukit Katil, Datuk Md Sirat Abu and managing director chief executive officer of Felda Foundation, Datuk Dr Emel Faizal Mohd Mokhtar.

Felda had distributed aid including food and beverages to the settlers and villagers to ease their burden.

Mohd Isa said Felda is grateful to security forces members for successfully conducting Op Daulat to safeguard the safety of Sabahans.

Felda had also spent RM22.5 million on repair of 4,500 homes of the poor in peninsular under the 'Kasih Felda' programme since it was introduced last year.

He said the number of houses repaired is expected to increase to 5,000 by year end.

"The programme aims to fulfill the wishes of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that Felda help and serve the community outside Felda so that they share the profit."

Felda also provides free breast cancer screening in collaboration with the National Cancer Council (Makna), give free spectacles to 1,000 people and RM5,000 to repair houses of 40 people in Bukit Katil. - BERNAMA

 

[BlackRiders]

11 March 2013| last updated at 06:00PM

LAHAD DATU: Temporary 'school' for students in Felda Sahabat

LAHAD DATU -- The Lahad Datu Education Office has proposed to set up a temporary 'school' for students in Felda Sahabat, to ensure they do not miss classes, if their schools remained closed longer.

Jummiah Tee, a deputy officer at the Lahad Datu district Education office said the setting up of a temporary education centre would ensure children from the three schools that remained closed in the Red Zone, would not miss their classes.

However, the setting up of such a centre would depend on the security reportand approval from the police.

"We are not allowed to enter the Felda Sahabat area, so we have asked the teachers to identify those who have been shifted to temporary 'homes'. We do not want the ongoing feud to affect the studies of children," Jummiah Tee told reporters here today after a briefing to finalise which schools were allowed to carry one.

Jummiah Tee said 997 students from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Lok Buani, SK Tanjung Labian and SK Fajar Harapan are unable to attend school since their schools were closed on March 4. - Bernama

 

[BlackRiders]

Published: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 6:16:00 PM
Updated: Monday March 11, 2013 MYT 6:41:50 PM

Lahad Datu: Sulu top general Commander Musa among those killed

A police officer examines the plastic bags holding the bodies of the gunmen at Lahad Datu hospital.

LAHAD DATU: Police believed they have killed Commander Musa, one of the Sulu gunmen's top general.

His body was among 18 that were brought to Lahad Datu Hospital for post-mortem.

"One of the 18 bodies brought to the Lahad Datu Hospital resembled Musa," said ASP Hussien Omar Khan, the head of Forensics for Ops Daulat.

He said the bodies of the militants, brought from Kampung Tanjung Batu in Felda Sahabat some 130km from here, had decomposed but a post-mortem would be carried out by a pathologist from the Penang Hospital.

Musa was among the Sulu group that intruded Malaysian waters and entered Kampung Tanduo.

He was killed in a gunfight which also saw 31 other militants dead.

Lahad Datu police chief Supt Shamsudin Mat said although those killed were enemies of the country, prayers would be performed on a date that has yet to be confirmed.

"Since they too are Muslims, we have a responsibility to perform the prayers before their burial," he said. - Bernama

 

[BlackRiders]

Monday March 11, 2013

Lahad Datu: Militants did not posses mystic powers, say police

A police officer examines the bags holding the dead gunmen at Lahad Datu hospital. Pix courtesy of PDRM

LAHAD DATU: The high number of fatalities among Sulu gunmen during Ops Daulat proved that the intruders were not invincible or using mystical powers when facing the security forces.

"During the crossfire with Malaysian security forces, 54 Sulu militants were killed and it shows that there was no mystic power involved," said Deputy Head of the IGP Secretariat (Public Relations) ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

He said claims that Sulu militants possessed mystical powers have been circulating in the social media when a picture showed a dead militant spotting a mystical pendant and yellow cloth.

ACP Ramli said the use of the mystical pendant may have been an attempt by the person wearing it to convince his followers that there they would be guided by mystical powers.

"In reality, only knowledge and wisdom can ensure the country's security, not through the use of supernatural powers," he said. - Bernama

 

[BlackRiders]

Cops: Sulu 'general' believed to be ex-MNLF commander

Lee Long Hui
5:31PM Mar 11, 2013

The Sulu ‘general’ whom the security forces killed few days ago is believed to be former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander Haji Musa, said Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib.

“We believe it’s him, we had found his clothes, but when he was shot, he was not wearing uniform,” he told a press conference at Felda Sahabat Beach Resort, Lahat Datu today.

He was responding to a question on whether one the 22 corpses of the self-styled ‘Sulu royal army’ members, currently placed at the Tawau and Lahat Datu hospitals for post-mortem, has been identified as Haji Musa.

However, Hamza (right) was unable to give further confirmation as more evidence is needed to conclude this matter.

“I can’t say whether he’s Haji Musa, as it only can be proven when the investigation is completed.

“When the corpses were recovered from Tanjung Batu, I had seen the status of the dead body, but I can’t confirm positively.

“Because when I would like to confirm it positively, I must have solid evidence, such as documentation and an identity card,” he added.

He said that the Forensics Department had yet to reply to him over this matter.

It is reported that a ‘general’ of the armed intruders was killed in a firefight in Tanjung Batu last Thursday.

However, inspector-general of police Ismail Omar said on the following day that it was not Azzimuddie Kiram, the leader of the intruders and brother of Sulu sultan Jamarul Kiram III.

‘We didn’t kill teenager in panic’

Meanwhile, Hamza also denied that the security forces had killed an unidentified teenager yesterday as they were tense and had panicked.

He said that the security forces had undergone training and are acting professional on the ground.

“If (you) want to say that we are tense, I think it’s impossible because the police and army have been well-trained.

“We are professional, so we are well-prepared to face any kind of situation,” he added.

When asked whether there is a possibility that the authorities had made such a mistake, he replied, “Maybe this assumption is correct”.

He also stressed that the police will detain suspected intruders under Section 130(c) of the Penal Code and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

Hamza said that there was no gunfight with the intruders today and the situation in Lahat Datu and Semporna town has returned to normal.

A teenage boy was shot dead yesterday morning at Kampung Sungai Bilis while security forces were tracking intruders near the red zone.

The Criminal Investigation Department is carrying out checks on his identity.

 

[BlackRiders]

Cops: Sulu 'general' believed to be ex-MNLF commander

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Charity Sulu terrorist Magic, Charms story tells To Be Strong ...

Written in Arabic reliable talisman verses of the Qur'an and the Qur'an little worn and carried at all times by terrorists Sulu allegedly to be invincible, turned out to be effective when 53 of them were shot dead in two separate locations in Lahad Datu and Semporna since 1 March.

Involved talisman found during the inspections in the dead terrorist by the security forces. Small book written in Arabic reliable small Quran tied with rope and wrapped around the waist.

Even talisman is understood also found the bodies of the terrorists who were shot on March 6 at the Village Tanduo here, and it is very sad talisman worn groin.

According to sources, the terrorists involved consider wearing amulets that would protect them from bullets but still losing to penetrate the security forces shot in combat.

"Terrorists believe that the application of the relevant charms make them invulnerable and able to defeat the security forces. ~ Metro

 

[BlackRiders]

Tuesday March 12, 2013

Lahad Datu: Medical aid for villagers

LAHAD DATU: A mobile medical team is assisting about 2,000 people from several villages who were displaced by ongoing security operations against Sulu gunmen near Tanjung Labian.

The team is also working to maintain hygiene conditions at the three relief centres here where the villagers are being sheltered.

The centres were opened on March 8.

Some of the villagers have complained about a lack of clean water and that many of them are falling sick as a result.

Sabah Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi said: “So far, there is no sign of any disease outbreak but we are keeping close tabs on the situation.”

The villagers have been given immunisation and vaccination shots.

They are from Kampung Tanduo, Kampung Tanjung Batu, Kampung Tanjung Labian and Kampung Lok Buani.

The Embara Budi community hall is sheltering 650 people and the one in Fajar Bakti has 1,300, while 80 are at the Cenderakasih hall.

Dr Rundi said the Felda Sahabat clinic here is also helping with the medical and health needs of the displaced villagers, as well as those of the security forces personnel.

“If there is a need, we will consider adding staff or medical officers,” she said.