Malaysia finally grants access to detained Filipinos in Sabah – DFA

By Michaela del Callar

Published March 22, 2013 3:03pm

(Updated 4:37 p.m.) Malaysia has granted the Philippine government’s request for access to all detained Filipinos in Sabah, including the eight who have been charged with terrorism-related offenses, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

The Malaysian Foreign Ministry sent a note verbale on March 20 to inform the Philippine government that the eight suspects are “part of an armed group” and are being charged for waging war against Malaysia's king.

The eight were the first to face charges since close to 200 followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III sailed to the coastal town of Lahad Datu in Sabah from Tawi-Tawi on February 12 to press historical claim over the resource-rich territory now controlled by Malaysia. At least 100 more Filipinos are in Malaysian custody, according to various reports.

Identities of the eight suspects are in the note verbale, said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez, but he declined to disclose their names.

Earlier, Malaysia's The Star Online named Atik Hussein bin Abu Bakar and Basad Manuel as those who are facing death penalty.

Those who face life imprisonment are Holland Kalbi, Lin bin Mad Salleh, Habil Suhaili and Timhar Hadir.

Kadir Uyung and Lating Tiong may also face life imprisonment allegedly for harboring members of the Kiram group.

In reply to Manila’s repeated requests, the diplomatic note also informed the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur that consular access to eight Filipinos and those who have been detained for investigations under Malaysian laws will be granted to the embassy in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Hernandez said. “The Ministry will advise our embassy of the procedures of the access in due course,” he added.

It was not clear if the eight are part of Kiram’s group who sailed to Lahad Datu or local Filipino residents who provided support to the men in Sabah, which is home to about 800,000 Philippine settlers.

According to Malaysia, dozens of Kiram’s followers have been killed in firefights and nine fatalities from Malaysian police.

“We have to find out who when, where and what. Those are the things we want to know when we get full access,” Hernandez said.

Sabah claim

Kiram said he sent his followers to Sabah to reclaim their homeland as efforts to get it back from Malaysia has been relegated to the backburner by the Philippine government.

The sultan said his forebears leased Sabah to a British company in the 1870’s but was illegally annexed by Great Britain which then handed over the territory to Malaysia when it gained independence from the British Crown in 1963.

Malaysian airstrikes launched nearly three weeks ago followed by a ground assault have forced Kiram’s men, led by his younger brother Agbimuddin, to flee Lahad Datu to neighboring towns while a few have been reported to have slipped back to Tawi-Tawi.

“It is very important to have full access to the eight and the other Filipino detainees in Lahad Datu to know their conditions and make sure that their rights are protected and their welfare are also upheld,” Hernandez said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, he said, is considering hiring private lawyers for the accused and other Filipinos who have yet to be charged by Malaysia.

“The government will shoulder the expenses and it will be taken from our legal assistance fund,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez added that the Malaysian Bar Council also pledged to help the Filipinos who have been charged in Sabah. Consular services

The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had set up consular services for Filipinos who are caught in the middle of the crisis in Sabah. On the other hand, Malaysian officials maintained there was no racial issue in the prosecution of eight followers of Sulu Sultan's before a Malaysian high court last Tursday. Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said: "For me, it is not a question of race, it is a question of terrorism. Don't forget, there are also our people (charged for terrorist activity)," he was quoted on Thursday as saying by Malaysia's The Star Online. Eight Filipino followers of Kiram on Thursday were charged before the high court for terrorism. Two of them are facing possible death penalty as they were slapped additional charges of waging war against the king, an offense punishable with death. As of last Wednesday, 62 Filipinos have been killed in the crisis, 107 have been detained and another 243 were arrested while hundreds of Filipinos continuously flee to South Mindanao from Sabah. — LBG/KG/RSJ, GMA News

Tags: sabahstandoff, sabahcrisis, jamalulkiramiii, departmentofforeignaffairs, malaysia