MANILA: The sultanate of Sulu has confirmed that 35 of its supporters in Sabah were killed as reported by Malaysia’s Star Online.
But Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the sultanate, said the 35 were killed by the Malaysian Navy and not by Philippine forces as previously reported.
Idjirani said the information was relayed to him last Friday by Guro Bata II, a commander of the sultanate in Lahad Datu town in Sabah.
“He called me up and informed me that members of the Malaysian Navy on speedboats were the ones who shot them on Wednesday night while in Malaysian waters. The bodies were then taken to Philippine waters where they were dumped overboard,” he said.
On Thursday, Star online reported the 35 men were allegedly shot by the Philippine Navy as they tried to cross into Sabah from Sulu.
The Star quoted Malaysian Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying that the armed men were shot by Philippine Navy and Coast Guard personnel before they could enter Malaysian waters with the reported mission of disrupting the upcoming Malaysian elections.
“If they had entered our waters, we would have taken them out. We will defend our country,” Zahid said in a press conference in Georgetown, Penang.
Zahid cited intelligence reports that the “Sulu militants” were out to disrupt the Malaysian general elections on May 5.
The report was earlier denied by both the Philippine Navy and the Sulu sultanate.
The sultanate’s forces have been locked in a stand-off with Malaysian security forces since they landed in Lahad Datu on February 12 in their bid to stake their ancestral claim to Sabah.
Idjirani said the sultanate believed that the shooting of the 35 by the Malaysian Navy and its putting the blame on Philippine security forces was planned to drive a wedge between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Philippine government.
Idjirani said by creating friction between the MNLF-influenced Sulu archipelago and Malacañang, it would be easier for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf)-backed Bangsamoro region to take shape.
The government is talking peace with the Milf with the initial agreement of creating a Bangsamoro autonomous region.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR
