Lawyers defend charge against Filipinos

This strong show of support came following the self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III declaration that it is illegal for Malaysia to file such a charge as ‘Malaysia does not own Sabah’.

Lawyer Datuk Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos said it is indeed legal to file such a charge.

“Terrorism is the act of waging violence against the masses. That is exactly what the Sulu militants did. We can compare their acts to the 911 incident in the United States. If that is called terrorism, then this is terrorism too.

“We can’t charge them for public nuisance! Whether you are a Malaysian or a Filipino, if you wage war against the masses, then it is perfectly legal to file that charge,” he told Astro Awani.

Meanwhile, lawyer Salim Bashir said the charge is legal, especially for a non-sovereign place like Sulu. Malaysia’s law does not tolerate intrusion.

“We could charge them as combatants under the Geneva Convention but because their territory is non-sovereign, we are charging them just like any other lay person for terrorism and waging war against the Yang Di Pertuan Agong,” he said.

Meanwhile senior law professor at Universiti Teknologi MARA Emeritus Prof. Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi said the accused have a constitutional right to be represented as the constitution in article five protects all foreigners as well as locals, petty miscreants as well as murderers and terrorists.

"Some of them are facing death penalty, it is necessary that they be given full and fair rights to plead their case.

"As the situation has international implications, we must ensure that justice is done as well as seen to be done," he added.

Yesterday, Atik Hussein bin Abu Bakar and Basad H Manuel - were charged in the Tawau High Court under Section 121 of the Penal Code for waging war.

They, along with four other Filipino citizens - Holland Kalbi, Lin bin Mad Salleh, Habil Suhaili and Timhar Hadir - were also accused of being part of a terror group.

The charge framed under Section 130KA of the Penal Code provides for life imprisonment upon conviction.