Govt to organise overseas tour series to explain Sulu claims - DPM Ahmad Zahid

KOTA BHARU: The government will organise a series of tours in several countries, led by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, to explain the issues relating to the Sulu group's claims.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the purpose of the tour was to explain that the Sulu group is a terrorist group and to avoid a bad perception of Malaysia.

"Explanation must be given about the Sulu group's claims because the world community does not know the truth and believe that they (Sulu group) are just a separatist group.

"We must set the record straight as they (Sulu group) is not just categorised as smugglers or intruders, but also terrorists," he told reporters after attending the meet-and-greet event with Kelantan KEMAS personnel here today.

Also present were Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKDW) secretary-general Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun and KEMAS director-general Datuk Mohamad Yasid Bidin.

Yesterday, the Special Secretariat on Sulu Claims said that Malaysia is scrutinising all existing measures to counter the group's claims in a bid to preserve national sovereignty.

It said the Malaysian Government is also making further checks to ascertain if any of the group's eight claimants have an affiliation, family ties or heirs to the Royal Sulu Forces (RSF) terrorist group that has been punished by the court in the intrusion case of Lahad Datu in Sabah.

It also said that the Malaysian Government insisted that the claimant's rights and claims were invalid, void and terminated through the exercise of the right to self-determination by the people of Sabah through the consultation of the Cobbold Commission in 1962 and the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

-- BERNAMA