Is This For Real???

This story is from here published on Saturday, May 31, 2008


MNLF seen reviving Sabah claim


The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is reviving efforts to reclaim Sabah by filing a petition before the International Court of Justice, a move seen by many as potentially affecting the peace process in Mindanao.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said MNLF’s initiative is “a demolition job” on Malaysia which is brokering the peace talks between the MILF and the government.

Former MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari, together with Abdullah Kiram, one of the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate, said he will file a petition before the international court to get back Sabah, a mineral-rich island that accounts for almost 50 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product.

But according to Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF, pursuing the Sabah claim is “an issue too hot to handle and could boomerang on his [Misuari’s] leadership.”

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the government is not aware of Misuari’s plan nor is it supportive of the Sabah claim revival.

“It should be the government [that should] run after Sabah, and that is not at the top of our agenda right now,” Gonzales said in an interview.

Misuari clarified that he is not out to wage war on Malaysia and that he is simply exhausting all legal avenues to settle the Sabah issue peacefully.

“We are not after war, so we will convince the Malaysian government for the sake of peace,” Misuari said during the second Mindanao Leadership Summit earlier this week that was attended by over 10,000 MNLF combatants and members.
-- Angelo S. Samonte