More decisive action needed on Sabah row

ON DISTANT SHORE
By Val G. Abelgas

After President Aquino virtually gave the go-signal to Malaysian authorities to bombard, assault and arrest Filipinos in Lahad Datu by basically declaring them as common criminals, Malacanang officials are now supposedly voicing concern about alleged abuses by Malaysian soldiers on our countrymen in Sabah.

“This kind of treatment on our Filipino citizens or Filipino nationals is unacceptable,” Valte told reporters following reports from Filipino evacuees that Filipinos are being arrested from their homes, and that some were shot dead on the spot and those jailed were either beaten or killed. The crackdown followed a standoff between Malaysian policemen and 100 or so followers of the Sultan of Sulu who were there to reignite the Sultan’s legitimate claim over Sabah.

Beyond words of concern, however, the Philippine government has not lodged a protest to the Malaysian government nor filed a formal complaint before any international body. And in the midst of the killings and arrests of Filipino nationals in Malaysia, Aquino has not shown any concern at all and has, in fact, continued to stomp the campaign trail with his Team P-Noy senatorial candidates.

The good thing, however, is that because he is so busy making sure his candidates do not get trumped like the followers of the Sultan of Sulu, Aquino has of late been quiet about the Sabah situation and, therefore, not further inflaming the situation. In the first days of the Sabah standoff, Aquino acted like a spoiled brat who broke into tantrums because his pet project of forging a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was imperiled by the Sultan followers’ actions.

He called the Sultan followers’ action a “foolhardy” and “hopeless” act, threatened to arrest and charge them with common crimes, threatened to extradite the Sultan to Malaysia, and virtually blamed them for the death of some of their comrades, while refusing to even listen to the Sultan.

Instead of demanding more firmly that the Malaysian authorities exercise maximum tolerance in handling the situation, Aquino virtually fed the Filipinos to the wolves.

In the hours before Malaysian policemen launched an aerial and ground bombardment of Lahad Datu, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Ed Malaya got an assurance from the Malaysian foreign and defense ministers that they would exercise maximum tolerance. But only three hours later, Malaysian troopers assaulted the village, killing 12 Filipinos.

Malaysian authorities showed little respect for its Asean neighbor, and yet the Philippine government did not raise a howl, with the President even blaming the Filipinos in Sabah for Malaysia’s aggressive action.

So far, 53 Filipinos have been killed and 85 have been arrested in Lahad Datu and neighboring Sabah villages. Sultan Jamalul Kiram III says only 10 of his followers have been killed, giving credence to claims by Filipinos who fled Sabah for fear of reprisal that even non-combatants were arrested and killed by Malaysian troopers on mere suspicion of being part of the sultan’s group.

According to reliable sources, the ambush in Semporna that resulted in the death of six Malaysian policemen and six Filipinos were not even related to the standoff, but were reported by Malaysian media as an extension of the Lahad Datu incident. The same sources said the Filipinos who ambushed the policemen were actually suspected smugglers who laid siege on policemen chasing them, but Malaysian media reported that the ambush was a spillover from the Lahad Datu standoff.

The same sources said foreign journalists were not allowed to get near Lahad Datu and that Malaysian newspapers have been told to report only news favorable to the Malaysian government.

The Malaysian government and Malaysian media are circulating in the internet photos of the mutilated Malaysian policemen in the Semporna incident in an apparent bid to fan anti-Filipino sentiment. And that’s what scares the some 800,000 Filipinos in Malaysia. Rallies are being held in front of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur almost daily since the standoff and Malaysian policemen are beginning to “secure” known Filipino hangouts and to check on the papers of Tausug-looking Filipinos.

Where does the Aquino administration stand on the Sabah claim and on the current Sabah situation? Does it have any stand at all?

The Aquino administration will have to act with firmer determination to resolve the crisis without sacrificing the country’s legitimate claim to Sabah. It has to make known its displeasure with Malaysia’s aggressive actions against its citizens. And more importantly, it should start taking a second look at Malaysia’s motives for aggressively brokering the peace deal with the MILF.

(valabelgas@aol.com)