THE LAHAD DATU CRISIS IN SABAH (MALAYSIA): WHAT REALLY HAPPENED - Research Paper Example

o claims to be the heir of the Sulu throne, his brother Agbimuddin Kiram was appointed to lead the group.1 The Filipino security agencies blocked the entry from southern Philippines and naval ships were deployed to Sulu and Tawi Tawi to stabilize the situation and also offer humanitarian aid while the Malaysian police patrol boats patrolled the waters nearby. President Aquino reached out to Kiram and requested a dialogue to address his concerns in addition to recalling his followers, President told Kiram that the longer his troops stay in Sabah the more lives of the innocent in addition to theirs he is endangering.

2 As a Filipino citizen, the laws of the land a fact that he was also reminded of, the President also ordered investigations to be carried out on any laws that Karim and his followers might have violated, also bound Karim. This was due to the fact that the constitution allows the punishing of people who expose the citizens of Philippines to personal harm or that of their property in addition to provoking or giving rise to the possibility of a war. Kiram was asked to cancel the standoff and ask those concerned to head back home but he remained defiant and said that the only grounds that would allow his followers to go back home is if the arrangement has been dealt with and an agreement signed between his officials and the president.

Kiram also said that he was ready for a jail sentence if it came to that because he after all felt he was innocent because going back home to their homeland is not a crime, in his own was he stated that there no need for threats as the issue could be solved diplomatically and a win-win solution achieved. His followers and he would not be the initiators of violence but they would not shy off in defending themselves if it was called for, his words were echoed by his daughter who said that his father’s followers were there to peacefully reside on their ancestral land and not wage war.

In March, the Kiram forces were considered