MNLF-Sabah intrusion link probed

From the Manila Standard Today (Oct 7): MNLF-Sabah intrusion link probed

An alleged ranking commander of the Moro National Liberation Front who was arrested in Sabah is being investigated for his links to Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who sent 200 armed men to fight in the disputed territory last February.

The 43-year-old Filipino, reportedly a battalion commander of the MNLF, is serving his 18-month imprisonment meted out on Sept. 9, 2013, a Malaysian court for encroaching on Silabukan Forest Reserve in Merabung, Tungku, a Malaysian newspaper said.

He was not identified in the report.

Tungku is about 45 kilometers from Kampung Tanduo, where Kiram’s fighters, led by his brother Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram landed in February to revive the sultanate’s long-standing claim over Sabah, Daily Express said.

The intrusion trigerred clashes with the Malaysian security forces that led to the death of 68 Filipino insurgents and 10 Malaysian policemen and soldiers.

Assistant Commissioner Omar Mammah of the Sabah Crime Investigation Department said investigation has started focusing on the suspect’s involvement in the 4,000-member “Bangsa Moro Army” of the MNLF that was activated and sent to Sabah last month to join the Royal Security Forces of the Sulu Sultanate deployed early February.

The suspect was found living in a cluster of huts with four women in the forest reserve.

The huts were later destroyed.

“During the demolition, officials uncovered documents identifying the suspect as a Moro National Liberation Front soldier, as well as military paraphernalia including a beret and Commando badge,” Mammah said.

He said the police was trying to pin him down under the terrorist provision under Section 130KA of the Penal Code alongside the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

In Taguig City, Kiram’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani said the sultanate had no information about the detained MNLF commander.

“Raja Muda (Agbimuddin Kiram) has not informed us anything about this MNLF commander,” he said.

At least 29 alleged followers of the Sulu Sultanate, including Kiram’s nephew Datu Amirbahar Hussein Kiram, are facing trial for their alleged participation in the Sabah standoff. Terrorism-related cases entail a death penalty under the Malaysian laws.

Eight other Filipinos were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on May 15, 2013 in the Sabah intrusion case.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/10/07/mnlf-sabah-intrusion-link-probed/