LAHAD DATU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday rejected a ceasefire call by self-styled Philippine sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
Najib stressed that the Sulu militants who made a deadly intrusion into Sabah must lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally.
He said at a press conference here yesterday the military operations against them will go on as long as it takes.
Najib’s declaration came after Kiram called yesterday for a ceasefire, promising that his followers will lay down arms and take on a defensive stance if Malaysia’s security forces agree to do the same.
“I told him (Philippine President Benigno Aquino III) that they must put down their weapons unconditionally and surrender their weapons to us,” the Prime Minister said.
“They have to surrender their arms and they have to do it as soon as possible.”
“Based on the law and the rakyat’s voices, the issue of Sabah being a part of Malaysia cannot be questioned by anyone,” he said.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had earlier yesterday said in his Twitter feed that a unilateral ceasefire is not accepted by Malaysia unless the militants surrender unconditionally.
“Don’t believe the ceasefire offer by Jamalul Kiram. In the interest of Sabahans and all Malaysians, wipe out all the militants first,” Ahmad Zahid said.
Kiram’s ceasefire call came after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged a peaceful resolution to the bizarre incursion, Malaysia’s biggest security crisis in years.
He declared a unilateral ceasefire for 12:30pm (0430 GMT) and urged Malaysia to reciprocate, according to a statement read out by his spokesman in Manila.
“They will not take any action. They will remain in the place where they are now. They will not expand operations,” the spokesman said, referring to the militants, believed to number between 100 and 300, in Sabah.
The spokesman, Abraham Idjirani, said Kiram was responding to Ban’s appeal Wednesday for a cessation of hostilities in Sabah.
“(Ban) urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation,” a statement released by his office said.
Kiram, who claims he is the current sultan of Sulu although the sultanate has no formal powers in the Philippines, sent his followers from their island homes across the Sulu Sea in an attempt to assert an ancestral claim to Sabah.
At least 28 people — 20 militants and eight police officers — have been reported killed since an initial stand-off began more than three weeks ago in the sleepy farming village of Tanduo.
The Government tried for three weeks to persuade the invaders to leave but launched an air and ground strike on them Tuesday after they continually refused, and engaged security forces in a pair of deadly shootouts.