Malaysia jails 9 south Philippine fighters for life

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR (AA) – Malaysia's High Court handed nine Philippine nationals life sentences Tuesday for their roles in a deadly incursion into eastern Sabah state in 2013.

In 2013, Jamalil Kiram III -- a claimant to the throne of the Sultanate of Sulu, which once controlled parts of the southern Philippines and northern Borneo island, now eastern Malaysia -- ordered 235 of his “Royal Sulu Army” to invade Lahad Datu in Sabah, resulting in dozens of casualties.

The nine men found guilty Tuesday, whose ages range from 41 to 76, were convicted of declaring war against the Malaysian King, which under Section 121 of the Penal Code carries a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment and a fine.

The Star Online quoted Judge Stephen Chung as saying the accused escaped the death penalty as there were no evidence of their direct involvement in skirmishes during the intrusion, nor proof that they had killed any security force personnel or injured anyone.

He said that key persons behind the intrusion -- such as the son of the late Kiram III, Datu Agbimuddin Kiram -- remained free and were not brought to justice.

"It is indeed an odious task to pass the appropriate sentence for the accused convicted under Section 121 of the Penal Code,” he added.

"The offence had badly affected the lives of the residents of Kampung Tanduo and those who resided in the nearby villages, as well as the families of the deceased security personnel," he said.

Four of the convicted were also sentenced to 18-year terms on a second charge of membership to a terrorist group, while the others who pleaded guilty to the offence each received 13-year sentences.

The 2013 invasion started Feb. 11 and ended 40 days later after a dramatic standoff involving 235 armed militants -- calling themselves the "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo" -- who arrived on boats from Tawi-Tawi in the southern Philippines.

Hundreds of Malaysian security forces surrounded the village of Tanduo in Lahad Datu where the group had gathered, and after several weeks of negotiations and unmet deadlines for the intruders to withdraw, local forces attacked and routed the Sulu militants.

At the time, Kiram III stated his objective as asserting the Philippines' territorial claim to Sabah.

At the end of the conflict, some 72 people were killed including 56 militants, 10 Malaysian security officers and six civilians.

To this day, the claim remains unresolved.