WHY
KUALA LUMPUR 1974 5th ICFM
COLONIZE THE MOROS?
By
Prof. Daim Abadi
BMNews
Zamboanga City, Mindanao
How
the Bangsamoro people lost their homeland –Mindanao and
Sabah- and divided into two colonies by two Southeast Asian
neighbors, Philippines and Malaysia, is a historical
non-fiction!
While Philippine colonialism usurped the Bangsamoro
homeland of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan
islands (MINSUPALA) in July 4, 1946, the Malaysian Federal
Government cunningly annexed and gobbled up the island of
Sabah in a mocked referendum in early 1960s. Malaysian
colonialism stage-managed a semblance “referendum”,
utilizing and bribing some Moro leaders from Sulu and
Tawi-Tawi to represent the “political” interest of Sabah
and Mindanao per se to legitimize the mockery.
It’s
clearly recorded in history that Sabah (East Borneo) was
gifted by the Brunei Sultanate Government to the Sulu-based
Bangsamoro Sultanate Government and in turn eventually was
merely leased to a British company by the Sultan of Sulu in
1876. When Malaysia regained her independence from British
colonial rule, she simply colonized Sabah, but continued up to
this day paying rental to the family of the Sultanate of Sulu.
Compounding the problem over the Sabah issue, the
Philippine government, which illegally and immorally
incorporated the Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao in 1946 with
the tacit collaboration of the American government, arrogated
shamelessly upon itself to claim Sabah during the
administration of President Diosdado Macapagal in early 1960s.
This so-called ‘claim’ awesomely frightened the
Malaysian colonizers, who couldn’t think of parting away
with their priceless colony. Thus, Malaysia wholeheartedly
supported the establishment of the first Southeast Asian
regional grouping called MAPHILINDO (for Malaysia, Philippines
and Indonesia) with the judgement perhaps this would avert the
decolonization of Sabah.
However, this diplomatic maneuver did not prevent the
Philippine government to pursue her immoral “claim”. Under
President Ferdinand E. Marcos, who shrewdly induced Sulu
Sultan Ismael Kiram II to authorize his dictatorial government
with the “claim”, the Philippine military undertook
secretly to mobilize, finance and train hundreds Moro youth to
invade Sabah. Because the Bangsamoro people commonly know that
Sabah belongs to their Sultanate Government and many of their
kindred reside in the area, the recruited Muslim trainees
mutinied against the Filipino military officer trainors once
they found out the evil objective behind the clandestine
project merdeka.
The historical episode ended in the massacre of more
than two hundred Muslim trainees, who were cold-bloodedly
machine-gunned to their ugly death by Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) Captain Romeo Battalla in the island of
Corrigidor. Subsequently, the corpses were thrown to the deep
ocean from Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopter gunships to
be devoured by the human-eating sharks. But the tragic
nightmare did not end there for a wounded Bangsamoro, Jibin
Arula, survived the heinous crime. He painstakingly crawled to
the island’s ravine and swam from Corrigidor to Cavite
shore, whereupon the poor fishermen found him and brought him
to the house of Governor Alfredo Montano. Then the world came
to know about the shocking Jabidah Massacre of March 18, 1968.
This tragic historical event sparked the Bangsamoro people’s
revolution against Philippine colonialism.
The sad fate of the Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao and
Sabah could have ended a successful fait accompli for the Filipino and Malaysian colonizers, but
freedom is in the blood of the colonized Moros.
The
Southeast Asian Filipinos, Malaysians, Indonesians and
Bruneians experienced this natural gut feeling as well as the
Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Afghans of the Asian
Subcontinent, including the Arabs of the Middle East, during
their liberation struggle against megalomaniac western
colonizers! And too the Central Asian Muslim states,
Azerbaizan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrghystan,
and Tarjikistan, which regained their complete national
freedom once the artificial Union of Socialist Soviet
Republics (USSR) miserably collapsed!
Thus, the contemporary struggle for self-determination
and independence of the Bangsamoro people against Philippine
colonialism was launched by the MNLF on March 18, 1968 to
regain their most cherished national freedom. Significantly,
this was merely a continued liberation struggle of the
oppressed Moro race against the piratical Spanish and American
colonizers starting 1521.
However,
Malaysian colonizers from the start maneuvered to stifle the
national sentiments of the Moros for total freedom. Taking
advantage of the controversial Jabidah Massacre debacle and
the kindness of Sabah Chief Minister Tun Datu Mustapha Harun,
a fearless Bangsamoro guerilla of the Pacific war during WWII,
Malaysian colonialism invited MNLF Chairman Prof. Nur Misuari
and 89 cadre officers to train in peninsular Malaysia for
obvious reason. Consequently, the Malaysian Federal Government
had 300 Bangsamoro freedom fighters trained in the island of
Banggi, Sabah. Apparently, the tactical move was to control
totally the MNLF leadership to enable the federal government
to dictate the tempo of the Bangsamoro people’s Jihad Fi-Sabilillah..
Thus,
transitionally to keep at bay the gains of the Bangsamoro
people’s struggle for complete liberation of their homeland,
Malaysian colonialism also conspired with Philippine
colonialism to forestall any diplomatic recognition for the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the Organization of
Islamic Conference (OIC). This was through the courtesy of the
5th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM)
held in Kuala Lumpur in 1974.
Clearly,
the final touch to the conspiracy would come later and this
may unfold during the 10th Islamic Summit of Heads
and Governments of the OIC scheduled for the first time in
Kuala Lumpur sometime year 2003.
MALAYSIAN
HIDDEN AGENDA VIS-A-VIS THE MNLF
From
the beginning, it was very clear that Malaysia’s sinister
motive was to deprive at all cost the Bangsamoro people to
regain Sabah from their colonial clutches. And conveniently
also used the Bangsamoro people to shield them against the
adventurous design of the Philippines to claim Sabah.
Deceitfully
aiding and spending for the MNLF freedom fighters, whom the
Malaysian Federal Government did never wish to get the upper
hand over the Filipino occupation forces in Mindanao, the
Malaysian Special Branch (SB) played its card well to weaken
the military capability of the MNLF. On the diplomatic arena,
Malaysia maneuvered to limit the recognition of the Bangsamoro
struggle for complete independence.
In
the first ever Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in
Kuala Lumpur in 1974, the Malaysians orchestrated behind the
scene to recognize the Philippines-Bangsamoro war in Mindanao
as an “internal conflict”, deserving merely an “autonomy
within the territorial integrity” of the Philippines.
On
the other hand, knowing that Filipino leaders are most
corrupt, the Malaysian Federal Government also worked out to
dissuade the Filipino presidents from Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel
V. Ramos, Joseph E. Estrada to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to
abandon the “preposterous claim” for hundred million
reasons. The basic strategy was to buy off the Filipino
presidents with the money accumulated from the natural riches,
including oil and timber, of the colonized Bangsamoro
territory of Sabah.
Only
Philippine President Estrada did not partake of this
attractive slice because Malaysian strongman, Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamed, did not favor his friendship with the ousted
Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was unceremoniously
sentenced to jail for 20 years over frame-up charges by the
Malaysian kangaroo court.
Thus,
Malaysian colonialism only bided for time to sabotage or halt
completely the Bangsamoro people’s struggle for total
liberation. The most auspicious time came under the crisis
government of President Arroyo.
Equipped
with the full knowledge that the lady Philippine
Vice-President was in dire need of campaign funds to bolster
her presidential election for 2004, the Malaysian Federal
Government had quite an easy time pursuing its ugly scheme.
Mrs. Arroyo accidentally became Philippine president due to
the so-called Edsa People Power II leading to the forced
resignation of President Estrada.
Thus,
it would take only a good excuse for President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, who had to be expediently accompanied by her
“legendary money-making machine” husband, Atty. Miguel “Mike”
Arroyo, to ball roll the strategy. The great opportunity came
during the signing of the preliminary agreement on September,
2001 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).
The
Malaysian Federal Government under the Machiavellian ruler,
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, conveniently invited the MILF,
which strongly advocated for Islamic independent state of the
Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao, and facilitated peace talks
with the Philippine government to complete the diabolical
master plan of undermining the Bangsamoro people’s struggle.
And as always to bankroll the whole scenario for it would
further contribute to the disunity of the Bangsamoro people
with the oft-repeated justification line to achieve peace in
war-torn Mindanao.
On
the other hand, the Malaysian colonizers started to discredit
the MNLF Chairman Prof. Nur Misuari, who accepted to become
Governor of the OIC/MNLF-rejected 4-province Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) after the forging of the
MNLF-OIC-GRP Peace Agreements of September 2, 1996. They
finally exposed their duplicity on the day the MNLF Chairman
as usual passed through Sabah in order to proceed to Jeddah to
report to the OIC Secretary General on the actual situation in
Mindanao. This was immediately after the sudden breakout of
hostilities between the MNLF Integrees and the Filipino
occupation forces in Jolo on November 20, 2001, resulting in
the death of close to 200 soldiers and civilians.
Unexpectedly, the Muslim leader was detained for “illegal
entry” by the Malaysian Federal Government and turned over
later on to the Philippine government for imprisonment. The
prominent Bangsamoro freedom fighter now is sharing the same
fate with what happened to revolutionary leaders like Fidel
Castro, Nelson Mandella and Xanana Gusmao.
Meanwhile,
the Malaysian conspirators, including Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid Albar and officials of the Manila Malaysian Embassy,
plotted cunningly with their Philippine counterparts to divide
and to subdivide the MNLF leadership. Of course, the ugly
colonial tactic was to simply erase the MNLF cause, and, alas,
to remove the revolutionary front from the OIC as “Permanent
Observer and sole representative of the Bangsamoro people.”
Simply put, the strategy was to replace the MNLF in the OIC by
GRP following Malacanang’s treacherous maneuver or the
application of the Malaysian deceptive version to replace the
MNLF by the MILF.
Thus,
the Malaysian and Filipino conspirators conveniently created
the so-called 15-man MNLF Executive Council (EC) under ARMM
Governor Dr. Parouk Hussin, Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema
and ARMM Assemblyman Hatimil Hassan. Subsequently, the Manila
government concocted and financed the “MNLF Alvarez-led
Central Committee (ACC)” under Assemblyman Alvarez Isnaji,
and MNLF Islamic Council Command (ICC) under Office of Muslim
Affairs (OMA) Executive Director Mudjahab Hashim and its
self-proclaimed Chairman Diego Sangcopan.
Yet,
not too long ago in the past, the aforementioned Muslim
leaders took pride and pledged to death for the MNLF-ignited
Bangsamoro people’s Jihad
Fi-Sabilillah to achieve self-determination and
complete independence for the oppressed and colonized Moros
and other ethnic nationalities of Mindanao. However, sad to
say, once coopted by Philippine colonialism they’re now
conspiring with Malaysian and Filipino usurpers to perpetuate
the colonization of the Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao and
Sabah. And they’re mighty proud to proclaim this in the OIC!
In
the final analysis, both the Filipino and Malaysian colonizers
have worked out from the beginning how they can safeguard
their colonial interests! How they can institutionalize their
exploitative stranglehold of Mindanao and Sabah because both
islands are undisputedly rich in mineral and aquatic riches!
Bereft
of moral conscience, Malaysian colonialism has from the start
utilized the OIC as a forum to legitimize its avaricious greed
to perpetuate the colonization of Sabah. In addendum, the
Malaysian colonizers have always supported their Filipino
counterparts to suppress the indigenous sentiments of the
colonized Muslims in Mindanao to regain their national pride
and total freedom. Tragically, despite the mass killing of
women, children and aged, burning of mosques and sacred homes
and countless material losses of Muslims by the Christian
Filipino occupation soldiers in Mindanao since the eruption of
the Filipino-Moro war in late 1960s. The Mindanao war has to
date registered in the killing of close to 300,000 precious
lives and the death toll is increasing with the resumption of
hostilities between the Philippine military and the MNLF
Mujahideen.
On
the other hand, despite the conspiracy of both the Malaysian
and Filipino colonizers to disintegrate the Bangsamoro people’s
liberation struggle. And despite the bribery and cooptation of
MNLF and MILF leaders as well as deceiving humanity by using
the OIC as a tool of deception, the moral spirit of the
Bangsamoro people to survive and to continue their sacred
struggle can never be totally eradicated by the greedy
colonialist conspirators.
Today,
the enlightened Bangsamoro youth generation has awakened to
the naked truth that the total liberation of the Bangsamoro
homeland of Mindanao and Sabah has to be pursued by any
radical and legal means.
Clearly now, it is their historical legacy! For it has become
a glittering idea that is only waiting for the right time to
come!
DA,
BMNews Agency, ZC
