Sabah ‘conspiracies’ here and there

It’s now a month since the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his brother sailed to Sabah armed to the teeth to reclaim their “homeland” in Lahad Datu. Taking a hardline stance, Malaysian authorities unleashed their police and military forces to flush out the Sultan’s followers who have holed up in Sabah.

The escalating conflict prompted no less than United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to call upon the government of Malaysia headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak for a peaceful resolution of the Sabah conflict. Over the weekend, Ban met with Malaysia’s ambassador to the UN to reiterate his call to ensure respect for human rights and avoid further loss of life.

Jumping on this chance to spare his followers from further harm, Sultan Kiram declared a unilateral ceasefire. From his home in Taguig, the ailing 74-year-old Sultan called upon his armed followers to take a defensive stance in Lahad Datu. The Malaysian government, however, refused to reciprocate this unilateral ceasefire call of the Sultan. Instead, Malaysia vowed “to destroy” the intruders if they refuse “surrender” or leave Sabah.

Unfortunately, caught in this crossfire are the thousands of Filipinos living in Sabah who are being rounded up by Malaysian authorities as suspected “conspirators” of these  “intruders.” Basically a police state, Malaysia can arrest anyone based on mere suspicion on the strength of their Internal Security Act. A humanitarian crisis is now developing in Sulu with the influx of Sabah evacuees.

On instructions of President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario flew to Kuala Lumpur last week to talk with his Malaysian counterpart, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman to come up with measures to spare the innocent Filipinos in Sabah from this ongoing police/military crackdown near and around the disputed areas.

Anifah was quoted telling Malaysia’s TV3 Wednesday night about his talks with Del Rosario. Both of them were supposedly puzzled by Kiram’s staking claim over Sabah at this time when Malaysia and the Philippines are preparing for elections. “We (he and Del Rosario) are questioning why this incident is happening now,” Anifah said.

Anifah cited news from Reuters quoting a military official in the Philippines as saying that an un-named Malaysian opposition figure had “invited” the Sultan’s heirs to Sabah to discuss “land issues.” He said these reports about certain groups with vested interest could have orchestrated the incursion in Sabah appear to have basis.

“Maybe there are certain parties that do not want Malaysia or the leadership of the Malaysian government to be recognized,” the Malaysian official theorized. “It is not impossible that there are people who are spiteful of the Barisan Nasional leadership led by our prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, which has excelled and gained recognition internationally,” Anifah added.

Anifah is a loyal party member of Prime Minister Najib in the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). He accompanied the Prime Minister during the latter’s state visit in Manila on October 14 to 15 upon the invitation of President Aquino. At rites held at Malacañang Palace, the top Malaysian officials led by Najib witnessed the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

P-Noy acknowledged Prime Minister Najib for seeing through the Malaysian-brokered Framework Agreement to its logical conclusion. The Philippine government and the MILF peace panels are still working out and finalizing details of the agreement in Kuala Lumpur.

But in Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib has his own political troubles and has in fact, come under fire for his alleged “weak leadership.” This criticism was recently aired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mahathir. There had been speculations in Malaysia that their Parliament might be dissolved to pave the way for a general election by the end of this month, or early April.

This is more than five years after their last general election on March 8, 2008. In that election, Najib’s Barisan Nasional lost its long held two-thirds majority in parliament to the opposition led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir’s political arch enemy.

Like Prime Minister Najib, President Aquino has also been deeply involved in the campaign for his Team P-Noy senatorial candidates in the coming May 13 national and local elections in the Philippines. Unlike his Malaysian counterpart, opinion surveys show P-Noy’s popularity rating remains high. Despite showing he could be tough, P-Noy is not spared of the same criticisms here of being a “weak” leader.    

Heard on DzRH radio interview over the weekend, Team P-Noy official spokesman Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo justified President Aquino’s active participation in the campaign of his administration-backed senatorial ticket. This is because, Quimbo claimed, President Aquino is staking his political stock in the midterm elections as a “referendum” of his three-year old administration.

Thus, the ensuing standoff in Sabah with Sultan Kiram’s followers only compounded the woes of both Prime Minister Najib and President Aquino. So it should not be surprising why Prime Minister Najib finds the shoulders of P-Noy to lean on.

During their meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian foreign minister suggested to Del Rosario to conduct an investigation into the alleged Philippine-based conspiracy with Malaysian opposition leaders to stir the Sabah crisis. 

Back here in Manila, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) subpoenaed last Friday an adviser of Sultan Kiram for questioning as the Philippine government pursued its own suspicions of a “conspiracy” in the ongoing crisis in Sabah. Pastor “Boy” Saycon, a self-styled political strategist and secretary-general of the Council for Philippine Affairs (COPA), was the first to be subpoenaed. He admitted acting as an adviser to Kiram to bring the Sultanate’s Sabah claim before the UN.

President Aquino had earlier confirmed reports by The Star that the government was looking into a conspiracy behind the Sabah crisis, involving personalities identified with the previous administration. He did not name names, for now.

While looking for the usual suspects behind these Sabah conspiracies here and there, it would do well for all of us not to lose sight of our rightful claims for the greater interest of the Filipino nation.