Najib’s stand of unconditional surrender for the Sulu militants deserves the support of all Malaysians

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s stand of unconditional surrender for the Sulu militants deserves the support of all Malaysians.

There is neither basis nor merit in the call for ceasefire or the unilateral ceasefire by the Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, after eight police commandoes had been slain and some of their corpses treated in the most harrowing and bestial manner after they had fallen as national heroes in the cause of national duty to protect national sovereignty and the security of the state and people.

All Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political affiliation, are united as one in giving full endorsement to all necessary measures by the government and the security forces to end the month-long battle against Sulu militants.

All Malaysians support the online petition by the group identified as “Concerned Citizens of Sabah” that Sabahans want to “remain Malaysians”.

DAP fully endorses the sentiments in the online petition that while Sabah has a “shared history” with its neighbours, “the people of Sabah are not politically beholden to these historical ties”.

The petition appealed to the international community “to acknowledge the people of Sabah’s right to self-determination; to endorse the state’s constitutional sovereignty of the Malaysian government as valid and the desire of Sabahans to permanently reject the Sultanate of Sulu’s claim on our home”.

The present situation, reality and sentiments in Sabah were correctly captured in the sentence: “The Sulu sultanate is obsolete; Sabah is a living and breathing land with its own history and people (who) deserve the right to choose who governs them.”

There are legitimate dissent and numerous criticisms on many issues involving the handling of the month-long invasion by Sulu armed militants resulting in the loss of lives of eight police commandos, which should not have happened at all, but this is not the time to ventilate them as they are all secondary to the primary issue of re-asserting our national sovereignty and ending all threats to the security and safety of the people of Sabah and the security forces personnel.

This is why I have not only temporarily put aside my criticisms about the manner in which the month-long battle with the Sulu militants was handled, I have also decided to defer my intention to institute legal proceedings against those who had defamed me on the Internet over the incursions by the Sulu militants, one of whom is Ishammuddin Razaman @ Ishammuddin, special officer to the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Irresponsible and baseless allegations have also been made against Pakatan Rakyat leaders, in particular Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the incursions by the Sulu militants.

I call on all political leaders, both from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, to end all baseless allegations and to put national interests above everything else so that the Sabah Sulu crisis could be ended in the shortest possible time, without the loss of another single life whether from security forces or the Malaysian public.

I reiterate the Pakatan Rakyat’s call for an emergency meeting of Parliament so that all MPs, regardless of political party or coalition, can stand as one to support all necessary measures taken by the government and the security forces to protect national sovereignty and security of the people of Sabah and security forces personnel.

The Cabinet at its meeting yesterday did not address the call by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership for a special meeting of Parliament.

The Prime Minister should not tarry any further on this issue and should take the initiative to convene a special meeting of Parliament on the Sabah Sulu crisis.