Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Malaysia has been in the midst of an ongoing security crisis since early February, when a group of 235 rag-tag militiamen from the neighboring southern Philippines slipped into the eastern state of Sabah and began occupying several villages.
While engaging police in several firefights, the insurgents beheaded and mutilated several captured Malaysian security personnel, prompting Malaysian forces to deploy fighter jets in an unprecedented air assault over the area in an operation to flush out the intruders.
The gunmen call themselves the “Royal Army of the Sulu Sultanate”, representing the heirs of a long-defunct kingdom which once controlled the territory up until the late nineteenth century.
The so-called Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, who is believed to be directing the militant incursion from Manila, insists that Sabah is rightfully part of his kingdom and has vowed not budge on his claims even if his personnel are killed in the standoff.
You can read the rest of article by Counterpunch HERE
And don't you get really p**sed reading all those horrid untrue stuff about Malaysia -- that the Filipinos in Sabah are treated like animals by the Malaysian security forces, that the thousands of Filipino workers in Malaysia are being abused.
Disregarding the vicious cyberwar between Malaysians and Filipinos about the Sulu claim on Sabah, just think how these lies have been reported in the media in the Philippines.
Suddenly, the people of the Philippines republic have forgotten their history. Now they are so supportive of "Princess" Jacel, daughter of the pretender to the Sulu sultanate Jamalul Kiram III.
She, of the people being oppressed by the Philippines government, she , of the people whose claim for autonomy has been rejected by the Philippines government.
It's confounding how some (maybe more) of the people of the Philippines have no understanding of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Anyway, here's my two cents worth in my Saturday column in the NST:
As Ops Daulat continues in Lahad Datu, Malaysians wait anxiously for the latest news. Has the situation in Lahad Datu improved? Are there any more casualties? Have the terrorists left or given up?
Without a doubt, the media coverage on print and television has been extensive. And as far as news in the Malaysian media is concerned, for the most part, it has been from official sources.
A lot of us detach ourselves from the emotional debate in cyberspace and concern ourselves only with the facts from newspapers and television reports.
We set aside our political bias. All we want to know are developing stories, including the human interest side and the drama. We depend on our Malaysian journalists there.
But if we turn to news emanating from the Philippine media, you'd get an entirely different picture, not just a lot of drama. But a lot of lies. The Malaysian media is careful not to publish unsubstantiated information on Ops Daulat because of security concerns. So, yes, peace-loving Malaysians, including journalists, get it.
Malaysia has been in the midst of an ongoing security crisis since early February, when a group of 235 rag-tag militiamen from the neighboring southern Philippines slipped into the eastern state of Sabah and began occupying several villages.
While engaging police in several firefights, the insurgents beheaded and mutilated several captured Malaysian security personnel, prompting Malaysian forces to deploy fighter jets in an unprecedented air assault over the area in an operation to flush out the intruders.
The gunmen call themselves the “Royal Army of the Sulu Sultanate”, representing the heirs of a long-defunct kingdom which once controlled the territory up until the late nineteenth century.
The so-called Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, who is believed to be directing the militant incursion from Manila, insists that Sabah is rightfully part of his kingdom and has vowed not budge on his claims even if his personnel are killed in the standoff.
You can read the rest of article by Counterpunch HERE
And don't you get really p**sed reading all those horrid untrue stuff about Malaysia -- that the Filipinos in Sabah are treated like animals by the Malaysian security forces, that the thousands of Filipino workers in Malaysia are being abused.
Disregarding the vicious cyberwar between Malaysians and Filipinos about the Sulu claim on Sabah, just think how these lies have been reported in the media in the Philippines.
Suddenly, the people of the Philippines republic have forgotten their history. Now they are so supportive of "Princess" Jacel, daughter of the pretender to the Sulu sultanate Jamalul Kiram III.
She, of the people being oppressed by the Philippines government, she , of the people whose claim for autonomy has been rejected by the Philippines government.
It's confounding how some (maybe more) of the people of the Philippines have no understanding of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Anyway, here's my two cents worth in my Saturday column in the NST:
SINCE the Lahad Datu incursion by a group of Sulu gunmen last month, Malaysians have been voraciously searching for information to learn more about the Sulu sultan's claim on Sabah.
By now, most of us are familiar with the subject given the wealth of literature and views articulated by academics and experts in the print and broadcast media on the subject.As Ops Daulat continues in Lahad Datu, Malaysians wait anxiously for the latest news. Has the situation in Lahad Datu improved? Are there any more casualties? Have the terrorists left or given up?
Without a doubt, the media coverage on print and television has been extensive. And as far as news in the Malaysian media is concerned, for the most part, it has been from official sources.
A lot of us detach ourselves from the emotional debate in cyberspace and concern ourselves only with the facts from newspapers and television reports.
We set aside our political bias. All we want to know are developing stories, including the human interest side and the drama. We depend on our Malaysian journalists there.
But if we turn to news emanating from the Philippine media, you'd get an entirely different picture, not just a lot of drama. But a lot of lies. The Malaysian media is careful not to publish unsubstantiated information on Ops Daulat because of security concerns. So, yes, peace-loving Malaysians, including journalists, get it.
Nuraina,long time no see.Hope everything is fine on youe end.
ReplyDeleteWell,first things first.The Lahad Datu or Sabah invasion by a group of terrorists from the Taulog tribe from the Philippines,has brought real embarrasment to our government.
This is one bitter lesson our leaders and people are not going to forget for a long time.That terrorists are terrorists,whether they are Muslim miltants,half starved,sandal wearing fragile old men past their fighting days or suicide bombers.
And not to forget that these people were first spotted and reported as wearing army fatigues and well armed.These terrorists are seasoned fighters fighting with the Philippino armed forces in guerilla warfare for decades.
And for our leaders wanting to negotiate and pandering them with free food and drinks,extending deadlines after deadlines,showed the seriousness and mettle of our leaders.Emboldened by the tidak apa lacklustre attitude of our leaders,the terrorists took the initiative of ambushing our brave men causing two fatalities in the first encounter.
Having the attack and fatalities on our security forces,shaked our leaders out of their fantasies of having a peaceful settlement and ordering our brave men into action.
Trying to negotiate or under estimate the capabilities of Muslim terrorists or militants is a very grave mistake.These people do not care about the people they are up against.As long as they can cause fatalities,their victims can be Muslims,Christians,Buddhists or whatever faith.Innocent women,children,babies and elderly people are mostly their casualties.
Just look at those that have died at the hands of these terrorists.In Israel,Palestine,Irag,Afghanistan and other Muslim nations.In fact most casualties committed by Muslim terrorists are on people of their own faiths.
yawn
ReplyDeleteThe Lahad Datu incursion:
ReplyDeleteIt takes a lot of time, one year maybe, and planning, to get 200 people to cross the ocean to occupy foreign territory with a view to stake a claim of the state where that territory is located. These 200 people must be either very stupid or very brave, if it’s the latter, perhaps all of them have supernatural powers or made to think that they do in spite of knowing that they will face an army which is more than 10 times bigger and much more powerful than them or even larger.
Did they know that they were on a suicide mission - were all of them brainwashed?
They were just like the Japanese kamikaze fighter pilots who were fighting against the Allied Forces turning their aircraft into missiles and crashing into the Allied Forces naval boats and die when their aircraft perished.
The logistics include food, clothes, living quarters, medicine, weapons, ammunition, transportation, etc.
Who financed them?
Did the militants receive help from within?
The incursion at Lahad Datu by members of the Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu is a wake-up call for all especially the Malaysian Armed Forces. It is now time to audit their personnel and equipment (weapons and weapon system) to make sure that they are prepared for any eventualities.
Questions regarding the delay in taking the offensive by our Armed Forces, 23 days after the standoff, still remain unanswered until today and this has invited even more questions and more speculations from many parties.
Were they waiting for the outcome of a negotiation?
Didn’t our leaders and our military top brass have enough faith in the military’s readiness?
Are the military’s manpower, equipment and weapons not good enough and are the soldiers unprepared to launch an early offensive?
Are the latest few billion Ringgit state-of-the-art weapons and weapons systems purchased over the last ten years faulty, out-of-service due to lack of maintenance or have no spare parts rendering them unserviceable?
Did our Armed Forces purchase the right equipment, weapons and weapons systems in the first place?
Are the members of our Armed Forces well and properly trained?
Corruption and ‘vested interests’ have resulted in over-inflated prices of almost all of our weapons and weapons systems purchases.
Given what we have seen so far, it is dreadful to think about our Armed Forces facing a threat 10 times bigger than the Lahad Datu incursion by members of the Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu equipped with more sophisticated weapons and better trained militants?
Here in Sabah, the Filipino princess you mentioned is known as princess Sos Tiram...that says it all!The people of Sabah have been so patient and compassionate to the Suluk and other pelarian Filipinos even though the majority of drug dealers in Sabah and mafia gangs are the Suluks.Majority of the Suluks are against the terrorists and the invasion is an embarassment to them too.
ReplyDelete