HOW MUCH DID ANWAR KNOW ABOUT THE SABAH MASSACRE IN ADVANCE?
Attempts to brush off the links between the founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Nur Misuari and Pakatan Rakyat’s Anwar Ibrahim only raise more questions. Fresh queries are being raised about what exactly was the topic of discussion between them when they met in Jakarta a few months ago. Have they been in communication since? What common agenda did an ex-Filipino rebel and an ex-Malaysian Minister share?
Only answers to these questions will calm the disquiet created in the Philippines and Malaysia by Wikileaks’ revelation of the duo’s links. Wikileaks had reported of diplomatic cables sent by the US mission in the Philippines.
The 2007 report to the US State Department described Misuari as someone who still harboured aspirations to ‘regain’ Sabah from Malaysia. The report had also quoted a Filipino official as saying that Malaysia was concerned about Misuari’s intentions towards Sabah as well as about his recent contacts with Anwar.
Anwar Ibrahim’s condolences to members of the Malaysian armed forces and their families following the raid by members of the “Sulu Sultan’s Army’ is hollow and an insult to the memories of those who were murdered in cold blood. Anwar needs to provide answers and this can only be done through an open and public inquiry. Not through the carefully crafted but insincere statements he is known for every time he puts his foot into it.
Members of Malaysia’s armed forces have expressed grave reservations about Anwar and his party. An officer of the rank of colonel who agreed to discuss the matter said words to the effect ” we do not get involved in politics although attempts have been made to politicise the army. Anwar and his friends tried to implicate us in the death of Altantuya. You will recall Raja Petra Kamaruddin making those statements. When an army officer on leave approached Raja Petra in London on the Altantuya affair (army intelligence) he Raja Petra said Anwar had put words in his mouth“.
NOT JUST ANWAR WHO IS SILENT-THE DAP HAS MUZZLED ITS MEMBERS ON THE SUBJECT
It is telling that, since the story broke, Anwar has largely remained silent about his meeting with Misuari. PKR Deputy President Azmin Ali and Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah attempted to brush aside the significance of the Misuari-Anwar connection. But not many have been swayed by their feeble attempts to whitewash a potentially-explosive revelation.
Azmin tried to justify the Misuari-Anwar connection by saying that at the time of the Wikileaks report, Nur Misuari was the governor of Mindanao, so many leaders met Misuari.
But he did not explain why a former Governor who later spent time in jail and currently holds no position in the Philippines continued to have contacts with a FORMER Malaysian Minister who also later spent time in jail and currently holds no position in Malaysia.
Misuari now harbours hopes of ‘reclaiming’ Sabah and Anwar harbours hopes of ‘reclaiming’ his government position. Were they hatching a plot to help each other fulfill their hopes?
It is not only Anwar who is suddenly media shy over the Sabah massacre and Anwar’s unexplained meetings with Misuari and his lieutenants. The DAP our sources tell us have muzzled their members and any party official from making comment about the Sabah massacre. They appear to understand the impact of the massacre on the nation’s psyche and the inevitable conclusions reasonable Malaysians will draw from the Anwar Pakatan connection with those murderers. And they in the DAP and PR promise a “clean government?”
NOTE:
The US embassy in Jakarta at the time sent a cable to Washington making note of Anwar Ibrahim’s contacts with the former Moro Liberation Front chief. In that cable Anwar is said to have met with an maintained contacts with separatists regularly. The cable suggests Anwar had been sympathetic and was in touch with separatist even during his time in government.
Singapore’s own intelligence service is said to have contributed to the US cable.
Gopal Raj Kumar 