No move to charge Umno-linked Akjan

Michael Kaung

Self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan, Mohd Akjan Ali, who was held in police remand under Section 130C of the Penal Code which covers act of terrorism, is now a free man.

KOTA KINABALU: Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad, the businessman who proclaimed himself as the “Sultan of Sulu” early this year, was released ‘unconditionally’ by the police here yesterday.

His unconditional release means that the case against the flamboyant businessman, who has close connections with Umno, has fallen apart and he will not be charged in the court.

According to Akjan’s counsel PJ Perira, police who arrested him a week ago on his return from Kuala Lumpur, did not apply to extend Akjan’s seven-day remand order which expired yesterday (May 22).

“He was released from Karamunsing police station (here) without condition at about 10am today (Sunday),” Perira said yesterday.

On May 16, Magistrate Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim issued a seven-day remand on Akjan, 53, under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code at the request of investigating officer ASP Azizul Hj Mansur to facilitate police investigations into the recent alleged installation of Akjan as the ‘Sultan of Sulu’ at his residence in Likas.

The police investigated the case under Section 130C of the Penal Code which covers acts of terrorism.

Those found guilty under the section can be jailed between seven and 30 years and fined.

It was widely reported that Akjan, a former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee, was ceremonially installed as the 33rd reigning Sultan of the Sulu Sultanate on Feb 2, when he took the oath of allegiance in a private ceremony in Kg Likas here.

It was said that the ceremony was witnessed by a group of 60 people including self-styled senior officials of the Sulu Sultanate from Sulu Province in Southern Philippines.

Following the installation, Akjan, who is also Islamic Welfare and Sermon Organisation of Malaysia, Sabah Chapter chairman, was given the title Paduka Maulana Al-Sultan Sharif Ali Muhammad Pulalun or Sultan Hashim Shariful-II.

Serious matter

The unilateral proclamation by Akjan as the reigning sultan provoked a storm in Sabah with politicians on both sides of the political divide urging the authorities to act against the Umno member who subsequently resigned from the party.

The majority of Sabahans had worried that Akjan’s action to declare himself on Malaysia soil as ‘Sultan of Sulu’ would have serious security implications to the state and country.

Some viewed Akjan’s self-styled coronation in Sabah as a challenge to the state and an insult to the King and the Head of State.

While others were concerned the event may be misinterpreted by foreigners from the Philippines to further encourage them to enter Sabah illegally.

During his remand hearing, the flamboyant businessman told the court that whatever he had done was “for the country’s benefit and not my own” apparently in reference to the long-standing Philippines claim on Sabah.

He said he understood the “seriousness of the matter” but requested for a shorter period of remand than the 14 days asked for by the police.

Akjan also argued that his case should not be held in open court on the grounds that it wass a unique and serious matter involving the Malaysian government and that he had written to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the matter.

A controversial figure since his meteoric rise in local Umno politics, Akjan has been in the news since February this year following the ‘coronation’ ceremony.

The timing and the place of his ‘coronation’ raised eyebrows as it is well-known as a neighbourhood housing several senior Sabah Umno members including a former head of state.

Generous contracts

Following the hue-and-cry by various political parties from both sides of the divide, Akjan issued a clarification saying that what actually took place was just a ‘thanks giving’ ceremony in conjunction with his “acceptance of offer” by the government-in-exile, to be their new sultan.

Akjan and other Umno members were arrested and detained under the ISA in the mid 1990s after he was allegedly caught with a briefcase containing about 2,000 Identity Cards (IC) at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on a return flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Little is known about how he came to be in possession with the large number of document which granted citizenship status to the holders and it was alleged that he was selling the ICs to Filipino illegal immigrants in Sabah for between RM500 and RM3,000.

Opposition politicians have always claimed that there was a murky link between him and Umno and illegal immigrants in the state who were ‘recruited’ as ‘phantom voters’ during elections.

After his release from a two-year detention term, Akjan repositioned himself in Umno at federal level and managed to align himself to former premier Tun Abdullah Badawi.

He was awarded generous government contracts including the prized RM215 million General Operations Force (GOF) housing scheme in Kinarut, in 2004. The project was however abandoned in 2005 when only 35% complete.