Sultan Kiram’s Cousin Arrested in Sabah – Report

From the Manila Bulletin (Feb 25): Sultan Kiram’s Cousin Arrested in Sabah – Report

Malaysian security forces arrested on Monday a cousin of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia, where Filipinos from the Sultanate of Sulu – some of them armed – have been holed up for more than a week.

Abraham J. Idjirani, the sultan’s official spokesman, said the arrested member of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo was Salip Asaral-Asmad, a first cousin of Kiram III in his mother’s side.

Idjirani described Asaral-Asmad as a long-time resident of Sabah and a Malaysian citizen.

The report on his arrest broke out while Kiram III was holding his second press conference for the day at past 4 p.m.

Idjirani received a call from Datu Amer Bahar Kiram, another descendant of the sultanate’s ruler, reporting the arrest of Asaral-Asmad on Monday morning.
Datu Kiram said Asaral-Asmad’s son told him that his father was being detained at the Lahad Datu police headquarters.

The arrest came a day after Vice President Jejomar Binay met with Kiram III at his residence in Taguig City.

In that 35-minute meeting on Sunday night, Binay was quoted as saying: “Sabah is ours, because Malaysia is paying us rent.”

Idjirani said Binay shared the belief in the legitimacy of the sultan’s claim as he spoke before some members of the news media at the sultan’s home.

But the Vice President clarified to the sultanate’s leader that he was speaking as lawyer and not as the second highest elected official of the Philippines.

The Vice President’s office has not confirmed whether or not Binay had made that declaration.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/395499/sultan-kiram-s-cousin-arrested-sabah-report