The “sultan’s” brother had sought to meet with Najib but was not granted a meeting, said Idjirani. — Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, March 27 ― Self-styled Sulu “sultan” Jamalul Kiram III’s brother did not meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the ongoing incursion in Sabah, the “Sultanate’s” spokesman Abraham Idjirani has said.
Idjirani confirmed, however, that Bantilan Esmail Kiram II had sought a meeting with Najib but was unsuccessful in securing one.
The spokesman also said photographs allegedly depicting Najib and Esmail were fake, the Manila Standard Today (MST) reported today.
“They had never met,” Idjirani was quoted saying by the Philippine daily.
According to MST, Idjirani said Esmail had visited Sabah in January, but did not go to Kuala Lumpur.
Another brother of Jamalul, Agbimuddin Kiram, had led over 200 Sulu gunmen from the Philippines to lay claim on Sabah on February 9, resulting in clashes with the Malaysian security forces that have since left over 70 people dead after attempts at peaceful resolution failed.
On Monday, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called for a probe by the Malaysian authorities into photographs that he alleged proved that Najib and Tan Sri Aziz Shamsuddin had met with Esmail.
Aziz is a former minister and political secretary to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the fourth prime minister of Malaysia. Dr Mahathir has been accused of spearheading “Project IC”, in which citizenship was allegedly granted to immigrants in Sabah in exchange for their votes.
In explaining the necessity for the probe, Anwar claimed that the matter was related to the clashes in Sabah and the “Project IC”, PKR’s mouthpiece Keadilan Daily reported.
Keadilan Daily said the photographs have been circulating on the internet, while other news portals have reported that it was spread by those supporting the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
Source: themalaysianinsider.com
