KOTA BARU – The government will organise a series of tours in several countries led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said to explain the issues relating to the claims made by the purported heirs of the Sulu sultanate.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the purpose of the tour was to explain that the Sulu group is a terrorist group and to avoid Malaysia being perceived negatively.
“Explanation must be given about the Sulu group’s claims because the world community does not know the truth and believes that they are just a separatist group.
“We must set the record straight as they (Sulu group) are not just categorised as smugglers or intruders, but also terrorists,” he told reporters after attending a meet-and-greet with Kelantan Community Development Department (Kemas) personnel here today.
Also present were Rural and Regional Development Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun and Kemas Director-General Datuk Mohamad Yasid Bidin.
Yesterday, the government’s Special Secretariat on Sulu Claims said that Malaysia was scrutinising all existing measures to counter the group’s claims and preserve national sovereignty.
It said the government was also making further checks to ascertain if any of the group’s eight claimants have any affiliation, family ties, or heirs to the Royal Sulu Forces terrorist group that has been punished in court over the Lahad Datu intrusion.
It also said that the government insisted that the claimants’ rights and claims were invalid, void, and terminated through the exercise of the right to self-determination by the people of Sabah through the consultation of the Cobbold Commission in 1962 and the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. – Bernama, March 15, 2023
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