And the latest shocker: The incompetence and the corruption continue! Mr Aquino and his agents played and are playing partisan politics as Tacloban and the rest of the Visayas 'burned' and continue to burn in the post Yolanda-Haiyan catastrophe.

By Anne de Bretagne
12 December 2013
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum

On the Philippine front: Year 2013 has been for me a most disappointing year.

Firstly, because whatever one says, Mr Aquino and many in his Govt of merry men gave up Panatag Shoal without batting an eyelash. The Philippine Navy until the reign of Mr Aquino had always fought to keep Panatag Shoal despite their meagre assets. In the 90s, the PN did not allow poachers in it and kept intruders in check. Today, we can say goodbye to Panatag Shoal. Yes, the Philippines has raised the issue to the United Nations but I am under no illusion that even if the UN verdict is in our favour, Panatag will not be returned to PH. Let's face it: China has succeeded in stationing themselves right in our EEZ and there's nothing much we can do about it because the man who is supposed to lead this country does not possess the moral courage and the mental acumen to lead and do something about it.

Secondly, the Sabah stand off showed the true colours of the President of the Republic by overtly siding with Prime Minister Najib and the Malaysian murderers of Tausugs who had gone to Sabah to stake their claim. Mr Aquino, in his bid to honour the memory of his father and his so-called promise to the Malaysians, wittingly left out the Tausugs in his hurry to form the Malaysia-engineered Bangsamoro with the MILF rebels.

Thirdly: Filipinos then discovered the massive corruption industry that's been keeping Philippine politics alive and thriving which is also known as the Pork Barrel Corruption industry! The industry is still thriving last time I read the news but just renamed: DAP.

Fourthly: And while PH was still reeling from the incredibly corrupt Pork Barrel Corruption industry shock, Filipinos began killing each other in the South. The President led the charge in killing Filipinos. I am convinced that the Zamboanga "stand-off" was an offshoot of this Govt's pro-Malaysia stand that saw the unecessary killings of our own.

And the latest shocker: The incompetence and the corruption continue! Mr Aquino and his agents played and are playing politics as Tacloban and the rest of the Visayas 'burned' and continue to burn in the post Yolanda-Haiyan catastrophe.

These are the major issues that haunt Year 2013 for me. Understandably, there are hundreds more of sub-issues but to list them down is just depressing so I prefer to limit the list to the above five. However, the year is not over and there remains a big question: Will there be any more anti-Filipino and anti-Ph sovereignty events or issues in store from the Aquino Govt for 2013?

~~~~O~~~~

Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF Framework Agreement and President Aquino's 'debt of gratitude' to Malaysia

We have always said that we should not allow Malaysia to engineer peace talks with Muslim rebel groups in Mindanao especially with the MILF. 

We don't have anything against wealth sharing with members of our country, individuals or groups but we take issue with the presence of Kuala Lumpur. We don't want Kuala Lumpur's people in Mindanao. We don't want their troops in Mindanao. And this entire GPH-MILF so-called peace framework agreement has sidelined groups in Mindanao notably the MNLF and the Sultanate of Sulu whose sons and daughters are languishing in jail and possibly will face the death penalty in Kuala Lumpur government prisons over the Tanduo, Sabah siege in February. 

Why did they do that? Why did President Aquino approve such Malaysia-engineered arrangement? Because we figure it is his way of annihilating the Philippine claim to Sabah which is rumoured was  was his father's -- the late Senator Ninoy Aquino -- vow to Malaysia.
 
It smacks of great stupidity to allow Kuala Lumpur to engineer this so-called peace talks. President Aquino, ever the appeaser himself said that he has a personal debt of gratitude to Malaysia. What debt of gratitude? His father's debt of gratitude to the Malaysians, to Mahathir via the Sultan of Johor, is not the nation's debt. President Aquino's sister, Kris Aquino, who, by the way, has been cavorting with the Sultan of Johor if we believe her own show, could very well pay for that debt personally and there's no need to involve the nation's national integrity in that Aquino debt of gratitude.

It smacks of common sense that you do not allow one with whom you have an outstanding territorial dispute to engineer an important peace initiative with your country's secessionist rebels. And we have an outstanding territorial dispute over Sabah with Kuala Lumpur. 

Doesn't the Aquino Administration know that Malaysia, the engineers of the so-called peace framework, has been funding rebels against this govt for the last 40 years? Kuala Lumpur has been funding the MILF to sow terror in Muslim Mindanao. Kuala Lumpur has been able to stage manage this rebellion and then convinced the Philippine government to accept Malaysia boots in Mindanao. How stupid and idiotic can one get!

Malaysia has not even deigned honor the Manila Accord, a United Nations treaty no less, which was signed 50 years ago and you trust them not to be in cahoots with the MILF to push the 13 provinces to ultimately secede from the Philippines? 

Once more with feeling: You cannot and must not trust the MILF. They do not speak for all the Muslims in Mindanao. They do not represent the great Bangsamoro. There are at the very least 5 rebel factions in Mindanao among which is the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the enemies of the MILF, on top of which you have the Sultanate of Sulu which has been sidelined by this inept Aquino Administration.

The MILF has been funded by Kuala Lumpur since the early 70s to wage war against the Republic of the Philippines. They are the permanent boots of Kuala Lumpur in Mindanao. Wake up. Open your eyes. 

A Malaysia-engineered so-called peace framework cannot bring the ultimate peace that you desire.

Start all over again! Kick out Malaysia from "peace talks" and kick out "Malaysia troops" from Mindanao. Select another country to chair peace talks and assemble, include all the rebel groups in Mindanao in the drafting of a peace agreement. To achieve a minimum of just and lasting peace, the process must be inclusive otherwise pockets of war will be inevitable.

~~ By HM Sultana Matt Salleh
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
15 July 2013

Related post: A plan to dismember the Republic

In September 2004, the MILF Chairman wrote to Malaysia Federation's Prime Minister Badawi to make known his desiderata. Immediately thereafter, the peacenicking talks panel was established. We thought even then that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was completely out of her mind to ask Malaysia to engineer the talks and we were hoping that President Aquino would right that serious wrong. Sadly, we did not count on President Aquino's loyalty to Kuala Lumpur because of his Daddy's promise to Mahathir through the Sultan of Johor.

Excerpts (lifted from official MILF website):

.../...
Of course, as far as we are concerned it is to our great advantage. But it is fresh in our mind and memory that we belong to Malay race and we came from the same recent ancestors plus the fact that we cembrace the same Faith. We learn to love and to beloved, yet we have suffered enough for several centuries under these bad circumstances and situations of the creations of others. We, the Suluans are but just human. We feel that our backs are now against the wall. But before running out of time we would like to suggest that both parties concerned – Malaysians & Suluans – should create two panels whose members should come from the different sectors of society to include, above all, the Ulama then come to the negotiating table for brotherly confrontation, make resolutions for lasting and comprehensive peace that serve as a monumental reservation for our coming generations. 

At this juncture, only two options hereunder have been left for us and we are required already to decide and choose our prerogative, by all means: 

1) Return back Sabah to its rightful owners and be under the Federation of Malaysia as a compromise. We are considerate enough; we believe it is a win-win solution more appropriate to both Malays Bomeputra and the Suluans as brothers of the same religion. Allah says: “Muslims are just a single brotherhood 2) The cessation or disintegration of the entire Sulu Archipelago to include Zamboanga Peninsula, Palawan and North Borneo (Sabah) from both the Philippine Republic and the Federation of Malaysia and be created an Independent State as Sultanate of Sulu & North Borneo with her own government and sovereignty. 

To avoid bloodshed and for legal purposes, all past Treaties entered into between the US Governments and the Sulu & North Borneo Sultans be used as vital instruments for the creation of such State. Otherwise, worse will come to worse, God forbid. We should get lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan which are severely devastated now owing to the obstinacy and stubbornness of their leaders who imposed tyrant rules and dictatorship just for personal aggrandizement. These are all charged to experience. I am confident that relinquishing Sabah to her legitimate owners is inevitable.  

On behalf of the Islamic brotherhood and in the name of Islam I venture to challenge Yang Amat Berhormat to lessen your burden of responsibility here in our contemporary world and in the hereafter by solving the Sabah conflict before stepping down from top position in the near future.  

May Allah bless us all. W a s s a l a m!!!! 
Ustadz/Prof. SHARIFF MOHSIN JULABBI Amer/Chairman, MILF-BMA, Personal Envoy of HRH Sultan Ismael Ibn Al-marhum Sultan Haji Punjungan Kiram 

cc. Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong X11 Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail 

Full post: www.defenders-philippine-sovereignty.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-is-milf-leadership-silent-about.html

Related news report: 'Ninoy vowed to drop Sabah claim to get KL support vs Marcos'
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03/12/13/ninoy-vowed-drop-sabah-claim-get-kl-support-vs-marcos

By Janvic Mateo, The Philippine Star
Posted at 03/13/2013 7:42 AM | Updated as of 03/13/2013 7:42 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. had promised Malaysia in 1983 that the Philippines would drop its claim over Sabah in exchange for its support in the move to oust strongman Ferdinand Marcos, a former foreign affairs official revealed yesterday.

Hermes Dorado, former national territory division head of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said Aquino met with then Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Mahathir before he went back to the Philippines and was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983.

Dorado said there were no official records of the supposed meeting between Aquino and Mahathir, but said he “became privy to this bit of intelligence” from former ambassador and retired general Rafael Ileto.

“General Ileto indirectly confirmed that Ninoy Aquino asked for help from Mahathir in exchange for dropping the Sabah claim when he gains power,” Dorado told a forum at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

Dorado said Ileto was the person assigned to monitor Aquino’s movement on his journey back to Manila.

“There was a commitment to help oust Marcos,” he added. “That is the reason why the government today is somehow reluctant to support the Sabah claim.”

“Our hands are tied today because the leadership up to this day is committed to drop the Philippine claim of Sabah,” he said.

According to Dorado, the clearest proof of Ninoy’s supposed pledge to Malaysia will be found in the 1987 Constitution, which was written during the presidency of his widow Corazon Aquino.

Dorado said the 1987 Constitution amended the first article of the 1973 Constitution and removed the phrase, “and all other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title.”

The 1987 Constitution revised the definition of Philippine territory and “deleted Sabah as a historic claim backed up by the legal title pertaining to the sultanate of Sulu,” he added.

Dorado said Mrs. Aquino had no choice but to honor Ninoy’s commitment to Mahathir because she needed support from ASEAN nations to legitimize her ascendancy to the presidency through the people power revolution.

“Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir adamantly refused to attend the ASEAN Summit in Manila until President Cory made a firm commitment to amend Article 1 of the 1973 Constitution,” Dorado pointed out.

“Malaysian hard-ball diplomatic and guerrilla war maneuverings, backed by shrewd use of economic leverage, sourced from huge revenues from oil extracted in Sabah, were completed by 1987,” he added.

“They succeeded in forcing the Constitutional Commission to drop the Philippine Sabah claim, hands down.”

Dorado said the amended Baselines Law approved in March 2009 resulted in the exclusion of Sabah from the Philippine territory.

He said the amended law removed Section 2 of the 1968 law that included the phrase, “…the territory of Sabah, situated in North Borneo, over which the Republic of the Philippines has acquired dominion and sovereignty.”

“Removal of the specific reference to Sabah represented a disastrous outcome to the claims of the sultanate of Sulu,” Dorado said.

He claimed the results of the supposed “Ninoy-Mahathir pact” have destroyed all peaceful possibilities of pursuing the country’s claims.

Proprietary rights

Reacting to Dorado’s presentation, Princess Jacel Kiram – daughter of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III – maintained that Filipinos have proprietary rights in Sabah.

“We have so much wealth in Sabah na dapat tayo ang nakikinabang (we should be the ones benefitting),” Jacel said.

She said the lease agreement over North Borneo expired in 1978.

She accused the Aquino administration of protecting the interests of the Malaysian prime minister rather than the interest of the Filipino people.

“I would prefer to be another (nationality) rather than a Filipino citizen under our current set of leaders,” she said.

Sabah may just be the next Mindanao! Heaven help Kuala Lumpur!

THE WEAPONS OF THE SULTANATE ARMY found at the area where a stand-off between Malaysian security forces and so-called Filipino gunmen took place, at Tanduo village in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

To combat the Filipinos armed with these 'weapons', Malaysia deployed 7 battalions of troops (close to 7,000) accompanied by heavy artillery including fighter aircraft - all against 230 Tausug 'excursionists' in Sabah - but Malaysia armies have not managed to take down the Tausgus despite their rather primitive weaponry.

Malaysia's armies have a lot to learn before they could even begin to possess the fighting prowess of these Filipino fighters.

In fact, so good are these Filipino fighters of Tausug ethnicity that Sabah may just be the next Mindanao! If that happens, heaven help Kuala Lumpur!

Link to weapons photo (AP): Sabah crisis 

Relate post: Sabah stand-off: First time inexperienced Malaysia armies have taste of battle

Rest in peace, Brave Tausug Warrior...

Killed by foreign troops in Tanduo, Sabah, March 2013 

Rest in peace, Brave Tausug Warrior...

To your assassins, we say, "Je ne te quitterai point que je ne t'aie vu pendu."

~ Nemo nos impune lacessit

 

 

Photo from: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20130312-407943.html

President Aquino, what will you say to an orphaned child whose parents were killed by Malaysian troops?

President Aquino, what have you done to protect and defend your people in Sabah?

Mr President, these people who are being chased like animals out of Sabah, their homeland, by Malaysians are your people too. They are Filipinos and warrant the protection and defence of the Republic.

Grim news: Malaysia subjects the Tausugs to further indignities...has PH Government found out whose remains they are?

Sabah News
Police To Check For Terrorist Remains In Kampung Tanduo
 
LAHAD DATU, April 9 (Bernama) -- Periodic checks will be conducted in Kampung Tanduo for the remains of terrorists from the militant group which invaded the village on Feb 12, said Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Tan Kok Lian.

He said K9 dog units would be used to detect graves which may contain such remains.

"We will check the area because there may still be some bodies buried in the village," he said after surveying several locations in Kampung Tanduo near here Tuesday.

Police discovered three graves containing 15 bodies, including that of a woman, and removed them from the village yesterday.

Mr. President, there is no shame in standing by the Sultanate, by the Tausugs, by the Filipinos in Sabah... there can only be pride because they are your people too. You can unite the country by standing by your people in time of crisis.

Mr President, every child left orphan because Malaysian troops killed his/her father or both will ask you why you did nothing while foreign toops killed a member/members of his/her family. Are you prepared to face that child to explain why you turned your back while Malaysian harmed his/her loved ones?

~~ Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims
19 April 2013 

What is wrong with the Aquino Govt? Why the un-involved observer stance on Filipinos' Sabah claim?

Our questions: What is wrong with the Aquino Govt? Why the 'un-involved observer stance' on Filipinos' Sabah claim?

In her article "Reclaiming Sabah", Manila Standard Today columnist Linda V. Jimeno, rightly points out: 

"Why the government is taking the stance of an un-involved observer is beyond comprehension. When the sovereignty and dominion over the territory was transferred to the Philippine government by the Sultanate in 1962–which the government accepted as shown in its many overt acts–the government took on the responsibility of reclaiming Sabah and protecting Filipinos who initiate non-violent actions to revive the Philippine claim." 

Full article: 

Reclaiming Sabah Posted on Apr. 15, 2013 Manila Standard Today

In my column last week entitled “Legal basis for the Sabah claim,” I discussed how the Sulu Sultanate came to acquire North Borneo (Sabah) and exercise dominion and sovereignty over it, and how Malaysia  came to possess the territory. 

In this article, questions on what the Philippines has done to make an official claim over Sabah and how Malaysia responded will be discussed, culling from the booklet written by Prof. Emmanuel Q. Yap, founder of the People’s Patriotic Movement. 

When the Sulu Sultanate transferred by a legal instrument its dominion and sovereignty over Sabah to the Philippine government in 1962, did the government do anything to assert its ownership over Sabah? Yes. Even before the Federation of Malaysia came into being, the Philippine government, in 1950, advised the British government that it had a claim over Sabah. Too, the Federation of Malaya (not yet Malaysia) recognized that there was an Aide Memoire dated August 2, 1962 from the Foreign Affairs Department of the Philippines which reminded the Federation of Malaya that “Britain occupies the territory by the terms of the lease which, in no way, entitles the British government to claim ownership or sovereignty over the territory or to transfer it to any entity whatsoever.” 

The Federation of Malaya acknowledged this Aide Memoire by also handing an Aide Memoire to the Philippine Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur on October 3, 1962 stating that the government of the Federation of Malaya and the British government agreed that they would work towards a formal agreement for the transfer of the North Borneo territory (and Singapore) to the Federation of Malaysia. No such formal agreement was ever reached. Yet, Britain proceeded to include Sabah among the territories it transferred to Malaysia. 

On December 29, 1962, the Philippines and the United Kingdom announced an agreement to hold talks on the Philippine claim. Thus, from January 28 to February 1, 1963 the first Ministerial Conference on the Claims was held in London with then Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez heading the RP panel. 

Did not the Philippines object to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963 which included Sabah? Yes, it did, together with Indonesia which, in turn, was claiming Sarawak. Thus, then Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, Indonesian President Soekarno and Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal met in Manila in August 1963.  The Manila Accord of 1963 was signed where Malaysia agreed that the inclusion of Sabah in its Federation would not prejudice the Philippine claim. Malaysia acknowledged the right of the Philippines to pursue its claim in accordance with international laws and the United Nations principles of pacific settlement of disputes. 

From February 5 to 10, 1964, the first round of talks between Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia (known as the Maphilindo talks) was held in Bangkok. Around the same time, President Macapagal and the Malaysian Prime Minister met in Phnom Penh. The Tunku agreed to elevate the claim to the International Court of Justice and encouraged the Philippines to submit a memorandum detailing the basis of its claims. The foreign affairs ministers of the Maphilindo states held a second round of talks from March 5 to 6, 1964. Then in June 1964 the Philippines gave to Malaysia its memorandum, “Philippine Claim to North Borneo Vol. 1” as suggested by the Malaysian Prime Minister. 

What happened in the Maphilindo talks in Bangkok? The talks failed because Malaysia unilaterally rejected the Philippine claim to Sabah and then terminated the talks. In so doing, it arrogated unto itself the power of a judge while being a contending party in the dispute. The talks were held supposedly to agree on what modes of settlement, as provided in the Manila Accord of 1963, were acceptable to both governments. 

How significant are the meetings in London and in Bangkok to the Philippine claim? The London foreign ministers’ meeting was significant in that it gave the Philippine claim the status of a legitimate international dispute. On the other hand, the Maphilindo agreement to meet in Bangkok pursuant to the Manila Accord was significant in that it contained a reservation agreed upon by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia that the formation of Malaysia would not prejudice the unresolved Philippine claim over North Borneo (Sabah). All three countries also agreed to settle the dispute by peaceful means such as arbitration. In effect, therefore, Malaysia accepted the existence of the legitimacy of the Philippine claim to Sabah. 

What is the effect of Malaysia’s unilateral termination of the Maphilindo talks in Bangkok? Malaysia violated several solemn agreements. One of them is the Manila Accord. Another is the agreement between the Philippine President and the Malaysian Prime Minister in Phnom Penh that the two countries would discuss the “best way of settling the claim, not precluding reference to the International Court of Justice.” Still another was the exchange of Communique between the two countries where both essentially agreed to discuss the best way to settle the claim. 

Should the Sultanate of Sulu be blamed for taking proactive action in reclaiming Sabah? The manner the Sultanate asserted its claim may not have been the proper and legal way but this writer will not go as far as blaming the Sultanate. The historical records speak for themselves. Why the government is taking the stance of an un-involved observer is beyond comprehension. When the sovereignty and dominion over the territory was transferred to the Philippine government by the Sultanate in 1962–which the government accepted as shown in its many overt acts–the government took on the responsibility of reclaiming Sabah and protecting Filipinos who initiate non-violent actions to revive the Philippine claim. 

E-mail: ritalindaj@gmail.com   Visit: www.jimenolaw.com.ph

Related blog posts:

The Most Beautiful Defence of the Philippine Sabah Claim

Signing of the Manila Accord

Government must not confuse itself on who is who in the Sulu Sultanate

Commentary by retired Ambassadors Baja and Lavinia

Senator Salonga warns Senator Sumulong

Should the Aquino Government now kill the Sabah claim to appease Malaysia?

Documents reveal Malaysia funded terror, secessionist, war activities in PH against PH Govt

Back to present - in picture: Malaysia Home
Minister Hishamm looking through binoculars during
Tanduo stand-off. A couple of days later,
 his Kuala Lumpur Govt gave orders to 'wipe out'
the Filipinos holed in in Tanduo.

LATEST REPORT: Kissinger cables: Malaysia sought US help to stop Philippines’ Sabah claim in 1973 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia had pleaded with the US government to intervene in the Philippines’ claim over Sabah in 1973, according to a series of recently declassified US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks yesterday. 

A secret cable from Henry Kissinger’s (picture) term as the US Secretary of State showed that former Malaysian ambassador to the US Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin had arranged a meeting with US ambassador Jack W. Lydman to discuss the issue, possibly under orders from then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
.../...

The Malaysia-Philippines counter-claims on Sabah were mentioned in several cables, with most referencing the Islamic insurgency in the Philippines by jihadist groups, of which Malaysia is a supporter. – The Malaysian Insider

For full article: Read Borneo Insider's reprint 

HISTORIANA: Libya and Malaysia actively backed terror, rebellion and war activities against PH Govt

Marcos’ decision to initiate a political settlement of the conflict came after two years of martial law. He was aware that the MNLF was not acting alone in its war against the state but was well supported by countries belonging to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) primarily with the active backing of Libya and Malaysia.

Marcos acknowledged that the only way to deal with the MNLF was to deal with its sponsors, especially the oil-rich members of the OIC in the Middle East where the country’s major oil requirements come from.

From: The Mindanao Conflict in the Philippines

A 'special medal' for Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia

Reports have it the Malaysia Prime Minister Najib presented special medal to Malaysian personnel who, upon his orders, chased and killed Tausugs in Sabah. 

Well, on behalf of the Filipinos in Sabah, here's a special medal (in picture) for Najib too courtesy of the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims -- that's all the ' speciql medal' you deserve, Najib, and share it with your 'Ops Daulat' people.

x

Picture caption says: Prime Minister Datuk Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak presenting the Pingat Kedaulatan Negara to one of 36 recipients during his visit to Felda Sahabat in Lahad Datu on Saturday. Looking on are Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman (third left), Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (second left), Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar (right) and Armed Forces Chief General Tan Sri Zulkefeli Mohd. Zin (left).  

To read report about Najib presenting special medal to personnel April, 13, 2013 - 11:37 pm, link here

A Malaysian views Najib with contempt and asks questions about the Sulu Sultanate 'excursion' in Lahad Datu

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz

Former UMNO Assemblyman Mohd Ariff Sabri Azziz wrote "Why’s Najib on a witch-hunt?" for Free Malaysia Today in which he treats Malaysia PM Najib in the most contemptible manner possible (and rightly so if I may say.)

Never have a I read an article published in the usually not-so-democratic Malaysia press albeit in Sabah as contemptible of an UMNO man in power as the one written by Ariff Sabri Aziz.

Could it be that this former UMNO Assemblyman is expecting UMNO's defeat in the forthcoming Sabah elections and has no more qualms about attacking Malaysia's current strongman who, I should add, is also the man who ordered the wholescale murder of people from the Sulu Sultanate group in Sabah last month?

In his article, Ariff Sabri Aziz writes of Najib as "value less", "Fuhrer-minded", one "cavorting with questionable organisations, the underworld and other gangster-like groupings" no doubt alluding to Najib's connection with the murder of a Mongolian woman during his tenure as Malaysia defence minister for which his henchman, a Razak Baguinda, was jailed for a while and then freed when Najib became PM; that Najib's "tenure as Pahang menteri besar was lacklustre", and so forth and so on. 

(And to think that President Aquino looks up to the Malaysia prime minister so highly that he parroted every word Najib said during the initial days of the Sabah stand-off.)

In keeping with the saying that the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend,' I would have been contented with Ariff Sabri Aziz' piece as he thrashed Najib with one ad hominem after another had he not injected the following remark which, to my mind, served to rebuke the real owners of Sabah, i.e., the Sulu Sultanate and by extension, the Tausugs of Sulu:  "There is a breakdown in law and order. The Umno government has failed to protect its citizens from being set upon by other citizens, because the perpetrators are the brownshirts from Umno."

Other citizens? What 'other citizens'? The Sulu Sultanate are the proprietary right holders of Sabah while the Philippine Republic holds the sovereignty rights which is carved in Philippine law under Republic Act 5446.

Perhaps, there is a need to remind Mr Aziz that following the transfer of sovereignty rights over Sabah to the Republic of the Philippines by Sultan Esmail Kiram on 12 September 1962, Suluks, Tausugs, citizens of Sulu, displaced Moros and even Filipinos of different ethnic origins became the natural citizens of Sabah. Fortunately, Arriff Sabri Aziz redeemed himself after he asks some questions which neutralised his otherwise slanted remark.

For example, he asks, "What exactly did Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak offer Jamalul Kiram III?"

Ariff Sabri Aziz, to his credit, also makes an eyebrow raising remark over which I think Jamallul Kiram III may be able to shed light: "I will not be surprised to learn eventually that Najib made some offers to the Sulu Sultan in exchange for political support." Does Aziz, a former UMNO man know something we don't?

And his other two questions if answered by any of the protagonists, i.e., Najib, Jamallul Kiram III or even his brother Esmail Kiram II, should help greatly in understanding where we are all at with regard to the Sabah claim: "Were these people promised land and the promises reneged? Did Najib turn down a request from the Sulu Sultan to meet up with him when Najib was in Manila recently?"

On the whole, it is 'refreshing' to read a straightforward anti-Najib and anti-UMNO piece from a Malaysian writer. It tells me that perhaps, not all Malaysians are devoid of sense of discernment after all. 

~~ By Anne de Bretagne
For the Defenders of Philippine Sovereignty
10 April 2013

Why’s Najib on a witch-hunt?  
Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | April 9, 2013
Did Najib Tun Razak renege on a deal with Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and is now worried that the truth will see light?
 

Trust must be earned, Mr Prime Minister, and right now we don’t see a leader. What we see is a slumlord with wads of cash in hand, doling out moneyed kindness.

What exactly did Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak offer Jamalul Kiram III?

I will not be surprised to learn eventually that Najib made some offers to the Sulu Sultan in exchange for political support.

The government has not been forthcoming in its explanations to reveal what is the true story behind the Lahad Datu tragedy.

Were these people promised land and the promises reneged? Did Najib turn down a request from the Sulu Sultan to meet up with him when Najib was in Manila recently?

So Najib and his government go on a McCarthy-like witch-hunt victimising people like Tian Chua who was charged with politically motivated legal action.

And the spiritual adviser of Umno is up to his usual despicable, dirty and utterly unethical tactics of imputing the Sulu invasion was financed by some party.

Suddenly you hear the spiritual adviser of Umno – the man who made the edict “better to be friends with the devil you know than the angel you don’t” – dishing up homilies and simplistic advice meant, unfortunately, for Umno simpletons.

Are we surprised? No!

We are not surprised to see Umno cavorting with questionable organisations, the underworld and other gangster-like groupings. Why? Because befriending bad people is second-nature to Umno and its leaders.

Value-less Najib
Values and mind-set, people say, are formed before one is 40 years old.

From then on, one draws down from the reservoir of accumulated knowledge and value system that one has. 

What has Najib accumulated before his was 40?

Did he spend his young years burning the midnight oil to get through his MCE and HSC?

Did he go through years of deprivation that shaped the character of most of us?

His years as Pahang menteri besar were embroiled in the wholesale plunder of Pahang’s forest.

I can remember in the early 1980s, he appointed his cousin to head a state-owned timber company. At that time the fellow earned RM40,000 per month and was driving a Porsche or a Ferrari.

The regional manager of Shell, based in Kuantan at that time, an employee of the second biggest company in the world, was earning a salary of RM11,000 a month.

Najib’s tenure as Pahang menteri besar was lacklustre. His mediocrity was only exceeded by his pursuits of other nocturnal distractions.

Najib didn’t come into office with stellar academic achievements.

His first job was as personal assistant to then chairman of Petronas, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. He was more of a bag carrier for Tengku Razaleigh then.

‘Fuhrer’ Najib
Between then and now there’s been nothing exciting except plunder and pillage.

The main players in the economy remain a chosen few friends and cronies, making Najib’s boastful pledge of implementing a New Economic Model entirely hollow.

There is a breakdown in law and order. The Umno government has failed to protect its citizens from being set upon by other citizens, because the perpetrators are the brownshirts from Umno.

Umno is behaving almost Nazi-like and Najib, well, he’s the Fuhrer. Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furhrer: One People, One Nation and One Leader! The Fuhrer looks the other way as his brownshirts intimidated and assaulted fellow citizens.

Nothing personal, it’s just business and I am asking what many more people are asking: What has Najib got in common with us, common people?

In terms of accumulated experience and formed values system, Najib is sorely wanting.

He has the least qualities that we can identify with and yet, people, unschooled and brainwashed want him to lead this nation?

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz is a former Umno assemblyman and is now a DAP member. He is a FMT columnist.

Link to article: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/04/09/whys-najib-on-a-witch-hunt/