MANILA: Malacanang palace is protesting the alleged cruel treatment of Filipinos in Sabah amid the Malaysian police crackdown on armed loyalists of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and their supporters.
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said they have received complaints from Filipinos about the supposed harsh treatment by Malaysian authorities and described such behaviour as “unacceptable”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will contact its Malaysian counterpart to relay the government’s concerns about the welfare of the Filipinos in Sabah, according to Valte.
“We have been receiving these reports from our countrymen who have gone back to different places in the south; there are those going to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga and these reports are unacceptable,” Valte said over government radio.
“This kind of treatment of our Filipino citizens or Filipino nationals is unacceptable which is why the DFA will be contacting its Malaysian counterparts to speak about these particular reports,” she added.
Malaysian security forces have launched operations against Kiram’s group and their suspected supporters in a bid to end the bloody siege in Sabah.
The crackdown reportedly included shootings and beatings at the hand of the Malaysian police, forcing hundreds of Filipinos to flee the territory and return to the Philippines.
As Malaysian forces continued pursuit operations against the Kiram group in Sabah, Valte said the government has already appealed for humane treatment for Filipinos in the area.
She said Manila has also requested “full access” to the Filipinos in Sabah so it can extend consular and humanitarian assistance. But such request is still pending given the security situation in Lahad Datu, Valte added.
She noted that President Benigno Aquino earlier obtained the assurance of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to spare the innocent Filipinos in his government’s pursuit of the intruders in Sabah.
“This is one of precisely the things that Aquino raised in his conversation with the prime minister of Malaysia… we are hoping that other Filipinos will not be dragged in the conflict in Sabah,” she said.
More Filipinos fleeing
Meanwhile, Philippine authorities continued to receive Filipinos fleeing from the conflict in Sabah, intercepting lately at least 130 more refugees on board a motorboat in the waters of Tawi-Tawi, reports reaching the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) leadership in Cotabato City said yesterday.
The reports quoted Lt-Commander Lawrence Roque, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard station in Bongao, as saying that the latest refugees – mostly women, children and the elderly – were taken off Taganak Island, also known as Turtle Island, near Sandakan, Sabah.
The refugees were escorted to Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi, where they were assisted by Task Force Tabang, which was formed to help civilians displaced by the hostilities in Sabah, according to ARMM’s social welfare and development officials.
They claimed to have escaped from Sabah for fear that they would be rounded up by Malaysian security forces reportedly raiding houses of residents with Filipino-sounding surnames.
Also yesterday, Mindanao bishops appealed to the government to do its best in saving the lives of Filipinos caught in the ongoing violence in Sabah.
Government leaders, they said, should not merely tell Filipinos to get out of Sabah but rather do more “for the sake of life and peace”.
The bishops in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website urged the Aquino government “to support the appeal of the United Nations for an immediate end to the violence in Sabah and to press upon the two contending forces to heed the UN call”.
Pesuruhjaya Polis Sabah, Datuk Hamzah Taib dalam sidang media semalam menyangkal penderaan polis Malaysia terhadap pendatang Filipina di Sabah. Beliau turut menafikan pihaknya menembak ke arah wanita dan kanak-kanak Filipina ketika memburu tentera Sulu.
ReplyDeleteTuduhan ini amat berat dan harus disahkan terlebih dahulu.
DeleteSabah police commissioner Hamza Taib today “strongly” denied reports that his men mistreated Filipino civilians living in Sabah, amid ongoing operations to flush out followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
ReplyDeleteHe dismissed the reports of maltreatment, according to a report on online media.
ReplyDelete“I strongly deny that. They can say anything but the focus of our operation is only in the two areas of Kampung Tanduo and Kampung Tanjung Batu,” he said.
ReplyDeleteHamza also denied that shots were fired at Filipinos leaving Sandakan, as was reported. Many Filipinos have been leaving Sabah since the Malaysian security forces started offensives against Kiram’s followers, who engaged them in deadly encounters since March 1.
ReplyDelete.. and if it happened outside the operation areas, the police and the army will inform of the incidences," Zahid told.
ReplyDeleteAn official in the Philippines was quoted as saying that 1,000 people are taking refuge in the Sulu and Tawi-Tawi islands. However, Ahmad Zahid denied the claim, adding: "If they are Filipinos and they would like to go back to their own homeland, it's well and good.
ReplyDelete"At the moment we are focusing on three areas – Kampung Tanduo, Tanjung Labian and Tanjung Batu. I reckon there have not been any causalities there as of now."
ReplyDeleteThe defence minister reiterated that Malaysia will not agree to any conditional peace talks or a ceasefire until the Sulu insurgents lay down arms.
ReplyDeleteWhoever trespasses into our borders with weapons is a terrorist-Ahmad Zahid
ReplyDeletePemilik senjata atau penggunaan senjata adalah haram.
DeleteMalaysia sentiasa memantau laporan media Filipina mengenai individu yang kemungkinan menjadi dalang di sebalik insiden pencerobohan di Lahad Datu, kata Menteri Pertahanan, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
ReplyDeleteBeliau berkata, laporan media yang dipantau ialah mengenai pendedahan penglibatan individu tertentu dalam kejadian itu.
ReplyDeleteLaporan yang dibuat haruslah benar dan bukannya reakaan.
Delete"Pada hemat saya, banyak lagi bukti-bukti yang akan dikeluarkan oleh media Filipina dan ia akan dikeluarkan jika terbukti (laporan itu) kukuh oleh mereka.
ReplyDelete"Saya tak mahu implikasikan pada mana-mana individu, biarlah media Filipina yang menyebutnya," katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas mengumumkan Prestasi Kewangan Tahun 2012 Kementerian Pertahanan di sini, hari ini.
ReplyDeleteAhmad Zahid berkata, jika individu yang disebut media negara itu merasakan laporan media Filipina itu sebagai tidak benar, mereka boleh menyaman media berkenaan.
ReplyDeleteLaporan yang tidak berdasarkan kebenaran harus disaman.
DeleteSementara itu, beliau mengingatkan media Filipina supaya tidak menulis laporan atau fakta tidak tepat berhubung kejadian di Lahad Datu kerana ia hanya akan mengeruhkan hubungan antara kedua-dua negara.
ReplyDelete"Saya harap mereka (media Filipina) lebih berhati-hati menulis fakta yang sebenar," kata Ahmad Zahid sambil sekali lagi menegaskan bahawa pasukan keselamatan Malaysia tidak menembak atau membunuh sewenang-wenangnya seperti yang dilakukan penceroboh militan dari selatan Filipina itu.
ReplyDeleteBeliau memberi contoh sebuah portal berita Filipina yang memetik seorang rakyat Filipina sebagai mendakwa kononnya pasukan keselamatan Malaysia mengheret lelaki Filipina keluar dari rumah mereka di Sandakan, Sabah dan menyuruh mereka berlari sekuat hati sebelum menembak mereka.
Ditanya mengenai kawalan di perairan Sabah sekiranya Operasi Daulat ditamatkan, Ahmad Zahid berkata: "Seperti yang dinyatakan PM (Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak), kita akan mempunyai kem tetap di Lahad Datu.
ReplyDelete"Kem ini menyerupai apa yang dilakukan di Sarawak dalam Markas Keselamatan Kawasan Rajang (RASCOM). Ia bukan saja akan babitkan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia, malah akan babitkan polis, Agensi Penguatkuasa Maritim dan Majlis Keselamatan Negara," katanya.
Pasuakn Tentera akan bertindak keras sekiranya penceroboh ini bertindak sedemikian.
ReplyDelete