Philippines’ peace pact to have positive domino effect – Dompok

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KOTA KINABALU:  Signing of the long-awaited peace treaty between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is believed to bring positive domino effect to the region.

Stressing that it would do good and greater stability to the region, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok expressed hope that the peace agreement “should be made to work” and meet its purpose.

“I remember the peace treaties signed by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari and the Philippine government, the last being in 1996. It was very nice on paper but on the implementation of it, not much was done.

“So, to me, whatever treaty you may have, it will not work if it is not implemented fully,” he said.

Dompok also recalled that when he was the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, and heading the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), he had intended to bring Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) to work with the people and develop an oil palm plantation in the Southern Philippines.

“Felda was very interested, but we were advised by the security not to go further as negotiation were still ongoing. So the intention stopped there.

“But now that talks are on for a peace treaty, it would be the right time for development in this region, provided that they protect the terms that have been agreed upon, and it is implemented well,” he said.

Dompok, who spoke to reporters after presenting RM34,784,145 allocation for 95 primary and secondary mission schools statewide and three from Labuan, here, yesterday, said that if everything went well, it would benefit the country economically.

“If the economy of a country gets better, the people will not migrate to find greener pastures elsewhere. There is a lot of good and fertile land in the Philippines, as well as resources to tap on, therefore the economy in the Southern Philippines will improve, thus easing off the people from migrating to Malaysia.”

Noting that it is already happening, Dompok said: “Indonesians working in plantations in Malaysia have returned to their country to work there because the prospects are the same. So I think the same should happen if the Southern Philippines is developed.”

Asked on whether the possible peace treaty would encourage Philippine refugees to return home, Dompok said it is difficult for him to make predictions, and disclosed that it was a “wait-and-see” kind of situation.

It was recently reported that there are some 84,000 refugees in Sabah.

The Philippine Government and the MILF will sign a landmark peace agreement after both parties reached a final conclusion to hold talks, and that it will help usher in peace in the mainly Muslim island of Mindanao, the site of a rebel uprising which had led to clashes with government forces that killed thousands in the past four decades.

This peace deal is significant to Malaysia, which offered its assistance to resolve the conflict by facilitating and hosting the talks.