KOTA KINABALU – A secret meeting on a planned invasion of Sabah that was organised by a senior government official with the involvement of 19 mayors from the Sulu Archipelago was held in the southern Philippines, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported today.
The report, quoting a senior regional security force source, claimed the meeting was held on December 1 by a locally elected official of the Sulu province with the aim to recruit 600 men to invade Sabah.
“The (possibility) the plan to attack Sabah coming to fruition depends on how much political support and funds it can get from various parties,” the source said.
“Many stakeholders in the Philippines and abroad are willing to exploit this issue for their respective political and strategic interests.”
The source said February 2022 was seen as the best time to invade. That time was likely to have been chosen to “commemorate” an invasion of Sabah eight years ago by fighters from Sulu, the source said.
“The failure of the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate to obtain the consent of the Malaysian government to settle the proprietary rights over Sabah prompted the implementation of this plan,” said the source.
Eleven of the 19 mayors who attended the secret meeting agreed to the plan, while the rest sat on the fence, neither agreeing nor rejecting it.
“Each mayor is expected to provide 50 men who are skilled and brave in battle.
“The cost of ammunition and other logistics is to be borne by the high-ranking official who also promised to contribute 500,000 pesos (RM42,120) to build 100 speed boats that will be used to attack Sabah,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor said he has yet to receive any report on a possible Sulu invasion.
Hajiji was answering a question by Datuk Darell Leiking (Moyog-Warisan) at the state assembly here today who questioned if the SCMP report was true.
A deadly Sulu incursion happened in the month of February 2013, where around 200 armed followers for the self-styled Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, landed at Lahad Datu to reclaim ancestral land in Sabah.
A full Malaysian military strike was done after one month of talks resulting in 68 men from so-called Sulu forces killed, while nine security personnel and six civilians died on the Malaysian side.
The SCMP also reported that up to 200 spies from Sulu were expected to be directed to Lahad Datu and Semporna, in Sabah east coast districts.
The source, however, said no one had infiltrated Sabah yet but warned Sulu plotters had sleeper cells in the state.
Sabah was ceded to the British by the former colonial power, Spain, in the Madrid protocol of 1885.
Malaysia has always rejected the Philippines’ claims on the grounds that Sabah residents had exercised their right to self-determination when they voted to join the Malaysian federation in 1963. – The Vibes, December 9, 2021
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