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Sulu militants planning another attack on Sabah, says deputy minister

Sulu forces from southern Philippines are planning another attempt to reclaim Sabah, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed. The New Straits Times today reported Nur Jazlan saying intelligence information showed the militants were planning a "revenge attack" following the 2013 deadly incursion in Lahad Datu. He said the ministry was working to neutralise "a local network of sympathisers" who assimilated into local communities, making it difficult for enforcement to detect them. "They are normal people, usually locals or non-Malaysians, with ties to the communities in southern Philippines. So, there are many of them," he was quoted as saying by the daily. The daily also quoted Immigration Department deputy director-general, Datuk Sakib Kusmi as saying that the Eastern Sabah Security Command was monitoring the movement of people with Sulu links. On Thursday, the Sabah legislative assembly passed a special motion to bar PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and Chua Tian Chang from the entering the state. This was over Nurul Izzah's meeting with Jacel Kiram, the daughter of self-styled Sulu sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who was responsible for the 2013 intrusion. Chua, also known as Tian Chua, was alleged to have masterminded the meeting in Manila earlier this month, as part of the party's delegation to meet political stakeholders in the country. The Batu MP said he and Nurul Izzah were not aware that Jacel was to attend the meeting, adding that it was not an important issue. The special motion, fully backed by Sabah Barisan Nasional assemblymen, was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan and seen as an affront to the sovereignty of Sabah. – 28 November, 2015.