Malaysia faces blank wall on Sulu ‘royal army’ leader’s whereabouts

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 17): Malaysia faces blank wall on Sulu ‘royal army’ leader’s whereabouts

Malaysian authorities have backtracked on their earlier claim that the leader of a band of Filipino “intruders” whose incursion in Malaysia has left scores dead has reportedly fled to the Philippines.

“Police believe that (Raja Muda Agbimuddin) Kiram, leader of the Sulu gunmen, has fled to the Philippines but do not discount the possibility that he may be still lurking in Sabah,” Malaysian online paper The Star quoted Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib as saying during a Saturday evening press conference.

“We will still continue operations and we will catch him if he is still here,” he said.

He appeared to have backed away from his earlier certainty that Raja Musa had fled this week, possibly to one of islands off Tawi-Tawi.

Kiram’s family insists Raja Muda is still in Sabah.

More than 200 followers of a self-proclaimed Filipino sultan entered Sabah on Borneo island a month ago to resurrect long-dormant land claims by Jamalul Kiram III.

Malaysian forces launched a military assault last March 5 against the group, sending them fleeing from a farming village where they had been holed up.

Ealier in the day, Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Zin said intelligence reports showed that Raja Muda, whose family says is the crown prince of the Sulu sultanate, had managed to evade security forces and slip out of Malaysia.

“(He) has abandoned his men and fled to his homeland,” Zulkifeli was quoted by local media as saying late Friday.

But his family has denied the man, the younger brother of the self-styled sultan, had left Malaysia.

When asked about the armed forces chief’s comments, the clan’s Manila spokesman Abraham Idjirani told Agence France Presse: “That’s not true.”

In a separate interview, Idjirani said the rumors were just among the black propagandas being issues by the Malaysian Armed Forces in order to demoralize their supporters.

“It is a counter strategy,” Idjirani added, noting that if Raja Muda indeed returned to the country, he should have been arrested by the Philippine National Police.

Idjirani also said he just spoke with Raja Muda around 2 p.m. on Friday.

He said the sultan’s brother confirmed that he was still in Sabah along with the group.

Meanwhile, Malaysian troops have discovered 15 more bodies of people suspected to be supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Sabah’s police chief said .

Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said the bodies were found in three shallow graves in Kampung Tanduo, according to a report from state media agency Bernama.

He said 61 “terrorists” have been confirmed killed in the “Ops Daulat” offensive against the sultan’s supporters who are claiming Sabah.

“We believe 10 more bodies have yet to be brought out of Kampung Tanjung Batu,” Hamza said.

He added the Malaysian government has asked the Philippines to claim the bodies of the slain Filipinos.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/item/11790-malaysia-faces-blank-wall-on-sulu-‘royal-army’-leader’s-whereabouts.html