The tweets of Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi rejecting Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's unilateral ceasefire in Sabah. (malaysiakini.com)
Malaysia on Thursday rejected a "unilateral ceasefire" declared by Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, even as the Philippines dismissed suggestions from Kuala Lumpur that Manila eventually extradite Kiram.
Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in a post on Twitter, said "the unilateral ceasefire (as declared by Kiram) is rejected by Malaysia, unless the militants surrender unconditionally," the minister tweeted.
"Do not trust the ceasefire offer by Jamalul Kiram. In the interests of the people of Sabah and Malaysia, destroy all the militants," he added.
In a subsequent press conference at Felda Sahabat Residence Thursday afternoon, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that, "Philippines President Benigno Aquino (III) has asked me what is Malaysia's response to the offer for ceasefire. Our stance is they must lay down their arms unconditionally and surrender them to us."
Najib was in Sabah for a briefing on the operation to flush out the sultan's followers.
Najib said Ops Daulat, the joint police-military operation "will continue for as long as it takes until we eliminate them or they surrender."
He also responded to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon's call for the conflict to be resolved through dialogue, saying: "That was exactly why we did not launch the assault for three weeks with four rounds of extensions (for negotiations to have the group to return to Philippines peacefully)."
"It was only after eight of our police men were killed that we began to launch the attack," he said.
The sultan declared a unilateral ceasefire on Thursday afternoon and urged Malaysia to reciprocate, according to a statement read out by his spokesperson in Manila.
"They will not take any action. They will remain in the place where they are now. They will not expand operations," the spokesperson was quoted as saying, referring to the militants, believed to number between 100 and 300, in Lahad Datu, Sabah.
On the Philippine side, meanwhile, President Benigno Aquino III rejected suggestions for the Sulu sultan's eventual extradition, saying Kiram will first have to face criminal charges in the Philippines.
"From my perspective, let them face the issues. Let our citizens here in the country face the charges that we will be proffering first, then we will talk about other developments after they have satisfied the requirements of our laws," Aquino said in an interview aired over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.
Sultanate defiant
The Sulu sultanate has so far counted 10 of its people dead and four injured from the assault by a combined Malaysian police-military force on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 10 others being held by the Malaysian security forces, said spokesman Abraham Idjirani.
Idjirani said despite the Sultan’s unilateral ceasefire declaration issued Thursday, their fighters will continue to maintain a defensive stance, and urged Malaysia to declare a ceasefire.
The call for a ceasefire came as Malaysia launched another assault in the area on Thursday morning.
The sultanate indicated, however, that its announcement of a unilateral ceasefire, effective 12:30 p.m. Thursday, did not mean it was surrendering its cause to reclaim what it considers part of its homeland. Sultan Kiram III said, “Wala sa bokabularyo namin ang susuko [Surrendering is not in our vocabulary]," as he proceeded to make the afternoon prayer or du'a.
He read to supporters the statement the UN statement attributed to Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon and issued in New York on March 6: “The Secretary-General is closely following the situation in Sabah, Malaysia. He urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation.
“The Secretary-General expresses concern about the impact this situation may have on the civilian population, including migrants in the region. He urges all parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards.”
The sultan’s sister Dayang Dayang Siti Krishna said, "Nagpapasalamat kami sa Diyos dahil pinakinggan kami sa aming hiling na matapos na ang putukan [We thank God for heeding our call that the hostilities be stopped],” as she called on the Malaysian government to reciprocate.
Pressed on their reaction about the reported exhumation of the dead, Idjirani said, “we would want to show the world that what Malaysia did, to dig up bodies of dead Moslems is the highest form of terrorism.”
Malaysia's request
As for the Malaysian government’s sounding out Manila on the possibility of extraditing the sultan to Malaysia even in the absence of an extradition treaty between the two ASEAN neighbors, Idjirani said, “we will fight [that]; it seems that they want their municipal laws to be implemented here.”
He added, “that is is why we wanted the Philippine government to be a partner here. The order of the UN is to stop the violence; we need it, we most welcome it."
Now, he added, “the ball is in the hands of the Malaysian government."
The official Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that despite the absence of an extradition treaty, Malaysia might ask the Philippines to extradite Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to face charges of having “incited anger and hatred.”
The news agency quoted Foreign Minister Anifah Aman as saying on a television show that Kiram " has made statements that have incited anger and hatred. Does the Philippines have laws to bring him to justice?”
"If not, maybe we will ask the Philippines to hand him over to us," Anifah added.
He said the extradition proposal has been “put forward” to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario. This was, however, before President Aquino offhand dismissed the suggestion, and stressed that he would prefer those involved in the incursion into Sabah face Philippine laws first.
Malaysian foreign minister Anifah said the two countries would seek the best legal means to deal with the crisis that has erupted after followers of Kiram went to Sabah to press their ancestral claim to the territory also known as North Borneo.
Asked whether the intruders caught would be charged in Malaysia or sent home, Anifah said: "This is subject to discussion. The president (of the Philippines) asked them to surrender and return home and the Philippine government pledged to take action in accordance with its laws.”
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/56574/malaysia-rejects-ceasefire-in-sabah-philippines-rejects-extradition-of-sultan
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