Malaysia offer: Peace negotations for Sabah claim?

MANILA, Philippines – The Malaysian government is pressuring the Philippines to give up its claim to Sabah in exchange for its continued support for the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a ranking security official said yesterday.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said this explains why Malaysian facilitators have surprisingly been forceful on the stalled negotiations between the government and the MILF.

The official, who sits in Cabinet meetings on national security, said the Malaysian government wants the Philippines to put up a consulate in Sabah.

“When we do that (put up consulate in Sabah), you know what that means,” the official said.

The official said it was surprising that Malaysian facilitators were issuing statements blaming the Philippine government for the slow progress of the talks, adding that the Sabah issue “has been impressed upon the government a long time ago when the negotiations started.”

The source said the government negotiators, in their dealings with the Malaysians facilitators, never gave indication that the Philippines was giving up its claim over Sabah.

The official said it was unusual for third party mediators or facilitators to be making threats, in this case, pulling out ceasefire monitors in Mindanao.

Talks between the government and the MILF are currently stalled due to the ancestral domain issue or which areas should be included in the new autonomous region in Mindanao.

The government said any agreement on ancestral domain should conform with the Constitution.

“The Malaysian government should understand this. They are a government with a Constitution,” the official said.