Malaysia cops not discounting sultan brod still in Sabah

After claiming he had fled to the Philippines, Malaysian police are not discounting the possibility Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's brother, Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, may still be in Sabah after all.

 

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said Saturday evening they are continuing their search for Azzimudie in Sabah, Malaysia's The Star Online reported.

 

"We will still continue operations and we will catch him if he is still here," he said.

 

With the statement, the report said Hamza "appeared to have backed away from his earlier certainty" that Azzimudie had abandoned his followers.

 

Azzimudie had led Kiram's followers to Sabah last February, and engaged Malaysian forces in a standoff before deadly clashes starting March 1 prompted Malaysians to launch offensives in Lahad Datu since March 5.

 

For its part, the camp of the sultan had insisted Azzimudie was still in Sabah.

 

On Saturday, sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said in a radio interview that in Azzimudie's last contact with them Saturday morning, he was using a SIM card from Sabah.

 

Meanwhile, Hamza said Malaysian security forces had cleaned up and secured Kg Tanduo and Sg Nyamuk, and that there was no sign of the "enemy" there.

 

"We have stationed a team there to make sure they do not enter the area again," he said.  — ELR, GMA News