You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Showing posts with label Sulu Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sulu Island. Show all posts

Saturday, March 26, 2016

The Sulu Side of the Story

BY PHILIP GOLINGAI

Sulu Sultanate claimant  Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram (raised hand)
Sulu Sultanate claimant Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram (raised hand)
 
A self-styled sultan attempts to clear his name and explain the role of his people in Sabah.
LAST week, I received a polite “royal” rebuke from one of the claimants to the Sulu throne.
Via Facebook messenger, “sultan” Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram wrote, “Dear Philip, I read your write-up and it makes me sad. I was condemned without trial and so were my people.”
The “sultan” was referring to my article, “It’s actually not as bad as it sounds” published last Saturday. Quoting a Malaysian intelligence officer, I wrote that people in Sabah claiming to be panglima (commanders) of Sultan Muedzul-Lail were criminals and not a threat to internal security, unlike the family of the late self-styled Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
“Can I interview you to write about your side of the story?” I replied to the Tausug man I met in Jolo, Sulu province in 2013.
Here’s the 50-year-old self-styled sultan’s side of his story.
Muedzul-Lail lives in Jolo island, southern Philippines.
He has many rivals – some of whom are conmen – claiming to be the legitimate Sultan of Sulu. One of his main rivals is the family of “Sultan” Jamalul. The family hit the headlines when the “crown prince” Agbimuddin led some 200 followers in the occupation of Kg Tanduo in Lahad Datu, Sabah in 2013.
Muedzul-Lail’s claim to royal legitimacy is that he’s the son of the 34th Sultan of Sulu Mahakuttah Kiram. He was Sultan from 1974 to 1986.
“Now that the two interim Sultans, the brothers Jamalul Kiram III and Sultan Esmail Kiram II are both dead, I hereby assert my birth right as a legitimate Sultan of Sulu archipelago and North Borneo, being the son of the late Sultan Mahakuttah Kiram, the last Sultan recognised by the Philippines Government, and the grandson of the late Sultan Ismael Kiram,” he said.
It was his grandfather who transferred the sovereign authority of North Borneo (renamed to Sabah after it formed Malaysia in Sept 16, 1963) to the Philippines government in 1962.
Muedzul-Lail is related to the late Jamalul, as his uncle is the first cousin of Mahakuttah. He said his uncles – Jamalul and Esmail – stole the sultanship from him after his father died in 1986.
“That time I was a minor. Now it’s time to regain that sultanship from them,” he said.
There were so many fake sultans coming out like mushrooms, according to Muedzul-Lail, because Jamalul and his brothers didn’t respect the law of succession.
“All the fake sultans want to gain United States support to claim back Sabah and Sarawak by all means. But for me as a legit sultan, I don’t want to wage war with Malaysia and Sabahans as I want respect, peace and harmony.”
The three Kiram brothers – Jamalul, Esmail (who succeeded him as Sultan) and Agbimuddin – are dead. Their brother Phugdalun is now the family’s self-styled Sultan of Sulu.
Muedzul-Lail claimed that Phugdalun wants Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay to win the presidential elections in May because Binay is committed to help him claim Sabah.
“But I can assure Malaysia that I’m the biggest blocking force and opposed to their moves,” he said.
(“Princess” Jacel Kiram, the daughter of the late Jamalul and the niece of Phugdalun, is with Binay and she’s using the Sabah claim as her campaign promise in her bid to be a Senator.)
On Feb 13, Malaysian security forces launched a massive pre-dawn operation in the Telipok Filipino refugee settlement, about 25km from Kota Kinabalu. Armoured personnel carriers entered the settlement, known to harbour criminals, as early as 3am.
The settlement was built in the 1970s for Muslim refugees fleeing southern Philippines during the Moro National Liberation Front war against Manila. Six people, linked to Muedzul-Lail, were among 520 people arrested.
“Who are the six people? What is their link to you?” I messaged the sultan.
“The six people are my panglima and maharaja and their families,” he said. “My only sentiment is the Sabah authority has no respect for my stature.
Let me be clear that all my officials are of good moral character and law-abiding citizens and whenever we find one violating the law, we immediately remove him from our roster.”
According to Muedzul-Lail, his panglima told him that they were arrested due to false intelligence that they were supporters of the family of Jamalul who launched the Tanduo intrusion.
That’s not the perspective of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
On Tuesday in Parliament, the Home Minister revealed that Sulu terrorists had appointed a commander for each state constituency in Sabah, towards establishing a Sulu sultanate in the state. Bernama reported him as saying that “the information was derived during interrogation of six terror suspects arrested by security forces in Sabah, besides evidence like thumb drives and several documents”.
“What’s your response?” I asked Muedzul-Lail.
“The panglima is just like a district officer. According to our tradition, their duty is to maintain the good relationship of the people within that region, to maintain peace and order of the region and they are not a commander or a terrorist,” he said.
Muedzul-Lail then explained the roles of the titles that he had bestowed to his followers.
The panglima’s duty is to promote good relationship with the fellow Tausugs (the major ethnic group in Sulu province) monitoring the bad elements in Sabah. The maharaja is the deputy to the panglima. And the paduka are the community leaders who will update the panglima on the situation in their respective areas.
“How do you recruit your panglimamaharaja and paduka in Sabah?” I messaged.
“Before the standoff in Lahad Datu I would always come and go to and from Sabah and Sulu. I would choose a poor person but with good moral character who can be of help to fellow Tausug, convincing others not to be involved with lawbreakers.”
After the Tanduo standoff, Muedzul-Lail stopped visiting Sabah as he was instructed by “some top officials in KL to clear my name first because all Kirams were branded as conspirators”.
Muedzul-Lail might be out of Sabah but some of his panglimas are still in the state.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Abu Sayyaf Behaeds Village Chief in Sulu

  (Philippine Star)

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The Abu Sayyaf group, known to have links with other terror groups in neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, gained worldwide notoriety for bombings and kidnapping activities. Philstar.com/File photo
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Abu Sayyaf insurgents beheaded one of its male captives they held hostage in Sulu province after negotiation for his safe release failed.
Navy Captain Roy Vincent Trinidad, chief of staff of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao and Joint Task Force Zambasulta, identified the victim as Rodolfo Bulagao.
Bulagao, a barangay captain of Aliguay Island in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, was abducted last May 4 along with Philippine Coast Guard personnel Seaman 2nd Class Gringo Villaruz and Seaman 1st Class Rod Pagaling.
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Trinidad said the decapitated head was found around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday by a civilian in Barangay Labah, Maimbung town.
The local police was immediately alerted and recovered the remains of Bulagao, which were brought to the Sulu Provincial hospital for proper disposition.
There was no immediate report on what prompted the execution of the victim though the Abu Sayyaf group issued threats last June to execute one of the three victims taken from Dapitan City if the government will not pay the huge ransom.
The group issued its warning through a video clip posted on social media, showing all three hostages.
In the more than three-minute video clip, each of the victims were directed to speak and appealed for their safety from the possible beheading.
“The reports we received, there was failure of negotiation,” Trinidad said without elaborating.
There were reports that the Abu Sayyaf group directly negotiated with Bulagao’s family, demanding P500,000 ransom in exchange for the release of the victim.
It was not clear how much ransom the Abu Sayyaf demanded for the release the two Coast Guard personnel.
Trinidad said the remains of Bulagao were scheduled to be transported by the Navy late Tuesday afternoon and the victim’s family requested for privacy from the media.
Trinidad said negotiation is still ongoing for the release of the two Coast Guard personnel and other hostages.
Among the captives still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf group were foreigners Elwold Horns of Holland, Malaysian Thien Nyuk Fun, Cambodian Bernard Then Ted Fen, Korean businessman Noui Hong Sung and long-time captive Japanese national Toshio Ito.
The local victims were Mayor Gemma Adana of Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay province, Coast Guard personnel Villaruz and Pagaling and three-year old Ace Jay Garban, a scion of a known political clan in Pitogo town, Zamboanga del Sur. 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Sulu As a Tourist Spot?


I was really surprised, when I received the press release through "MindaNews"...

Sula as a tourist spot?

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan said has approved the formulation of a Provincial Tourism Plan to establish a clear direction and provide the necessary information and strategies to develop a viable tourism industry in the province.

In this press statement, Tan said Sulu's natural beauty, unique environment structure and refined white sand beach fronts are a come-on to local and foreign travellers.

A tourism multi-stakeholders forum was held several days ago at the provincial capitol to gather insights into the development and identification of potential tourist destinations in the province.

"The people of Sulu are losing so much for years of neglect of these untapped resources. The development of tourism in Sulu can be the biggest source of income and revenue for the province and its people," Tan stressed.

But in his interviews with the Zamboanga media, Tan would usually say, he doesn't want to talk about the security situation. I guess, that's the main problem and biggest of all questions.

Of course, one could enjoy wonderful places, such as the one-kilometer long white sand Maubo Beach in Patikul, the town next to Jolo, the capital of the province, or the 33,200 hectare Tubbataha Reef... .

Sulu, still one of my dream destinations... .