Kiram kinsmen fear persecution by KL

By Ferdinand Fabella
Manila Standard Today

THE relatives of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Sabah are now living in fear because of the continuing crackdown by Malaysian forces, the sultanate said on Sunday.

Abraham Idjirani, the sultanate’s spokesman, said many relatives of Kiram had actually gone into hiding and could not return to Mindanao because Malaysian security forces were pursuing them.

“Many are still in Sabah and they are now in hiding because they fear for their safety,” Idjirani said from the residence of Kiram in Taguig City.

“Even those who are not members of the Sulu Royal Forces, as long as they have blood relations with the Sultan, are being arrested.”

At least 5,000 Filipinos have fled Sabah after fighting broke out between Kiram’s armed followers and Malaysian armed forces on March 1. The hostilities started when the sultanate sent a 235-men force to the coastal town of Lahad Datu to reassert its historical claim over Sabah.

The contingent was led by the sultan’s brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, who remained in hiding in Sabah.

More than 100 alleged supporters of the Sulu Sultanate have been arrested while more than 400 were charged under the draconian Malaysian’s Security Offenses Act.

Last week, Idjirani said an uncle of Kiram, identified as Ustadz Janjan, was executed by security forces in Sabah shortly after he was arrested.

“He (Janjan) was arrested and killed because he is a relative of the sultan and was accused of masterminding the standoff but in fact he has been living there for a long time,” he added.
Also arrested in Sabah was Kiram’s nephew, Datu Amirbahar Hussin Kiram.

Idjirani said he received a call from Agbimuddin Sunday morning, informing him that clashes continue in Sabah and that many Filipino residents were being arrested.

He said Agbimuddin also told him that Malaysian authorities are targeting Filipinos that came from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan, which are part of the sultanate’s territory.

Agbimuddin, Idjirani said, also reported that there were two groups of Filipinos who recently arrived in Sabah apparently to avenge the harassment and maltreatment committed by Malaysian forces against Filipinos.

“The Malaysian police and military have no respect for Filipinos in Sabah anymore. That’s why they are probably out to take revenge,” Idjirani said.

The country’s ambassador to Malaysia, Eduardo Malaya, said Sunday the government would ensure that the rights of eight Filipinos facing charges for their alleged involvement in the Lahad Datu incursion are respected, and that they have legal representation when court sessions resume on April 12.

Malaya said it was standing policy for the government to provide consular assistance to nationals in distress, whether or not it condones their acts or advocacies.

The assurance was made after a consular team from the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur conferred with the suspects on March 28 at the prison facility in Tawau where they are detained.

The eight who are facing terrorism-related charges were identified as Atik Hussin Bin Abu Bakar, Basad H. Manuel, Habil Bin Suhaili, Holland Bin Kalbi, Thimhar Hadil Suhaili, Lin Bin Mad Salleh, Kadir Bin Uyung and Lating Bin Tiong.

The eight men charged were among more than 100 arrested under Malaysia’s tough security laws. They were charged with “harboring persons committing terrorist acts” and “waging of war” against the country’s king, which is punishable by a life-term imprisonment or death.

The men from Mindanao, aged between 17 and 66, did not enter pleas, reports said.
They were charged in front of a judge, who came to the heavily guarded police station in Lahad Datu town, which is near palm oil estates and coastal villages where security forces were still chasing Agbimuddin’s men.

Malaysian forces launched a military assault on March 5 against the group, sending them fleeing from a farming village where they had been holed up since mid-February.

The crisis, which began last Feb. 12, has embarrassed the Philippines and Malaysia, shining the spotlight on the latter’s porous border and locals’ complaints of rampant illegal immigration and lawlessness. With Macon Araneta

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/04/01/kiram-kinsmen-fear-persecution-by-kl/