Are the eight men charged in
Malaysia for the intrusion by followers of the sultan of Sulu into Sabah
Filipinos or Malaysians?
After condemning on Thursday the
filing of charges against the eight as “terroristic,” the Sulu sultanate on
Friday disowned the suspects, saying they were not Filipinos but Malaysians.
Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for
the sultanate, said the sultanate learned about the “fall guys” from a source
in Sabah.
At least one of the eight
arraigned at the Tawau High Court on Thursday admitted during the proceedings
that he was paid to join the group from Sulu.
The Star newspaper of Malaysia
identified the suspect as Holland (spelled “Holan” by Idjirani) Kalbi.
Speaking in court through a
Badjao interpreter, Kalbi said he was asked by “someone” to join the group, but
did not identify who it was. He also did not say how much he was paid to go
with Agbimuddin’s group.
“I was just being foolish,” The
Star quoted Kalbi as saying in court.
But Gani said Kalbi’s statement
should not be recorded.
The judge reminded Kalbi not to
say anything until he has a lawyer.
The SLA is providing legal
representation to the eight accused.
Idjirani said Kalbi was one of
Jamalul’s followers who were killed in the March 1 “massacre” in Tanduo village
in Lahad Datu town.
Idjirani was referring to the
police assault on Agbimuddin’s group in which 18, not 10, of Jamalul’s
followers were killed.
Idjirani apologized for the
earlier body count, which proved to be wrong, he said, because full information
was not available at the time.
‘They are Filipinos’
But Syarulnizam Salleh, chair of
the human rights subcommittee of the Sabah Lawyers Association (SLA), told the
Inquirer by phone on Friday that the eight men charged with launching
terroristic acts and waging war against Malaysian King Abdul Halim were
Filipinos.
Salleh said he learned about the
nationality of the eight men during his meeting with Malaysian Attorney General
Gani Patail on Thursday night.
The SLA, however, said in a
posting on its website that Malaysian authorities had arrested not only
Filipinos but also Malaysians in the security operations to end the intrusion
by followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
The Malaysian authorities have
arrested 108 people suspected of links to the Sulu group led by Jamalul’s
brother, Agbimuddin Kiram.
But they’re dead
Idjirani reiterated that Kalbi
was one of the 18 “martyrs” of Tanduo.
“Now he is one of the eight
accused. So what’s this?” Idjirani asked.
Another alleged follower of the
Sulu sultanate charged on Wednesday and arraigned on Thursday was identified as
Lin Mad Salleh.
But Idjirani said “Ling Mad
Salli” (his own spelling) was also one of the 18 Tanduo “martyrs.”
“Have the Malaysians resurrected
the two RSF men?” Idjirani asked, using the shorthand for the “Royal Security
Forces” of the Sulu sultanate.
“Our basis for saying that they
are not Filipinos is that our source from Sabah called us to say they are
Malaysians. They are not Filipinos,” Idjirani said.
“To confirm this, they (Malaysian
authorities) should divulge where they were caught. If they were caught outside
Lahad Datu, they were [Malaysian] civilians,” he said.
“They were set up to make
Filipinos afraid, because Malaysian security forces have become abusive because
of their internal security act,” he added.
The accused
The eight alleged followers of
Sultan Jamalul faced Judge P. Ravinthran of the Tawau High Court on Thursday to
be arraigned of the charges brought by the Malaysian authorities against them
the day before.
Kalbi, Salleh, Habil Suhaili and
Timhar Hadir are accused of launching acts of terrorism in Sabah. They face
life imprisonment on conviction.
Atik Hussein Abu Bakar and Basad
H. Manuel are also accused of terrorism as well as waging war against the
Malaysian king. If convicted, they will be sentenced to death.
Kadir Uyung and Lating Tiong are
accused of harboring a terrorist group, and face life imprisonment. They were
arrested on that charge in Tanjung Labian on March 4, a day before the
Malaysian military launched air and ground operations to crush Agbimuddin’s
group.
No plea was entered for the eight
accused following an application by Attorney General Gani, who led the team of
prosecutors.
The charges are nonbailable.
Gani told the court that though
only two of the accused faced charges that carried the death penalty, the
prosecution would see to it that all eight would have legal representation in
the interest of human rights.
He said he had discussed legal
representation for the accused with the SLA and the Bar Council of Malaysia.
Salleh of the SLA confirmed
earlier information received by the Inquirer that some of the accused were
placed in straitjackets.
Straitjackets for security
Gani applied to the court for the
procedure and Justice Ravinthran granted his application “for security
reasons,” according to a copy of the court proceedings obtained by the
Inquirer.
Ravinthran subsequently ordered
the trial of the eight accused to start on April 12.
Gani said some of the accused
would be jointly tried while individual hearings would be held for others, as
they were arrested at different places or time.
Of the eight accused, one is
under 19 years old. Some are Badjao and others are Orang Suluk or Tausug.
In a statement issued Friday, the
Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said it welcomed Gani’s assurance that the
eight Filipinos would be given legal assistance.
The embassy and Salleh of the SLA
said they were coordinating with each other for legal representation for the
accused.
Mopping up operations
Mopping up operations continued
in Lahad Datu Friday to clear the villages of Agbimuddin’s men.
Malaysian authorities said 68
members of Agbimuddin’s group had been killed in fighting since March 1.
But Idjirani said that by the
sultanate’s reckoning, only 26 of the 235 members of Agbimuddin’s group had
been killed. Four were wounded and 10 were arrested, he said.
Idjirani identified the 10 he
earlier reported as killed in Tanduo as Kalbi, Salli, Ibrahim Suhudah, Junaidi
Harain, Adulkader Jumaadil, Hawadi Jumaadil, Tar Undang, Sangkahan Ajan, and
Datu and Mrs. Maharajah Sabandal.
He did not identify the eight
others whose deaths in the police assault the sultanate learned about only
later.
Other losses
In addition to the 18 killed in
Tanduo on March 1, Idjirani said four were killed during the air and artillery
attacks on March 5, and two others were killed later because they shielded
Agbimuddin from soldiers’ fire.
Idjirani said 36 other sultanate
followers were detained at the Philippine Naval Station in Tawi-Tawi after
being intercepted at sea while trying to return to the Philippines and charged
in a local court two weeks ago.
Of the group that sailed to Lahad
Datu on Feb. 9, only Agbimuddin and 161 followers of the sultanate remain,
Idjirani said.—With a report from The Star/Asia News Network
