Former President Fidel V. Ramos on Wednesday advised President Benigno Aquino III to personally meet with Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to address the ongoing conflict in Sabah. In a television interview, Ramos said Aquino should have a one-on-one talk with Kiram to hear out the sultanate’s grievances. “Kung may imbitasyon si Pangulong Aquino [from Kiram], e mag-usap na kayong dalawa nang masinsinan,” Ramos said. Kiram’s followers are currently engaged in a battle with Malaysian authorities in Sabah, supposedly to assert the sultanate’s claim on what it calls its ancestral territory. Nearly 30 people have already been reported killed due to the fighting. The Mindanao-based Islamic sultanate once controlled parts of Borneo, including the site of the standoff. The sultanate's heirs have been receiving a nominal yearly compensation package from Malaysia under a long-standing agreement for possession of Sabah. In a televised statement last week, Aquino warned Kiram and his followers of possible violations of Philippine laws committed by the sultanate’s Royal Army in Sabah by engaging Malaysian authorities in a standoff. Ramos, however, said the Aquino government should not label Kiram’s group as criminals to encourage them to retreat and return to the Philippines. Ramos also appealed to Kiram’s followers to heed the Philippine government’s appeal for them to go back to Sulu. — Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News

March 6, 2013 4:40pm




As is the case with armed conflicts, civilians have been the most affected in the ongoing conflict between Malaysian authorities and followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Sabah.

Since the start of the standoff there early February, many Filipino and Malaysian families in Sabah have abandoned their homes in fear of being involved in the security operations launched by Malaysian authorities against Kiram's followers.

GMA reporter Maki Pulido reported last February 28 that around 180 families from Tanduao, Sabah, moved temporarily to Tanjung Labian after Kiram's armed men arrived in their hometown.

"Dito na [kaming] lahat, nag-alisan lahat [doon]," Ben Hamid, a Filipino from Tawi-Tawi who had been living in Sabah for many years, told Pulido.

He said food was a problem as they left all their livelihood behind. He said all they could take with them were their clothes.

"Yung hanapbuhay namin wala na," Hamid said, adding they just want the conflict to end so they could return to their peaceful life.

A separate report on March 4 by Pulido said some residents in Semporna temporarily moved into boats because there were no evacuation centers available.

The news website Borneo Insider quoted a Malaysian resident as saying that their "peaceful town has become a nightmare to live in."

"We are moving out because these are uncertain times. We heard the gunshots. My children are afraid," Julasri Yaakob told an Agence France-Presse reporter in the report.

Some of the Filipino residents in Semporna used to live in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, but said they were not afraid that they would be targeted since they were not the cause of the conflict.

On Tuesday night, March 5, some 50 Filipinos fled Sabah and returned to Mindanao by boat in fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Sabah is home to more than three million people.

Almost 58,000 Filipino workers have permits to work there while almost 96,000 were considered illegals as of 2010, according to records of the Malaysian government.

Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said 289 Filipinos were deported just last Sunday from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia, although she added this was not connected to the Sabah dispute.

She said 897 Filipinos have been deported from there in 2013 alone. — Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News