FREE YOURSAY 'Is this BN's back-up plan to reinstate the Emergency Ordinance? No one can get within 20km and we can't trust the gov't to tell the truth...'

Quit if you can't get Sulu invaders out, Hisham told

James Dean: Where is our defence minister? Our borders have been breached by a group of armed intruders.

What has happened to our armed forces? We are supposed to have high-tech surveillance aircraft and super-duper Scorpene submarines and yet they cannot detect this group of insurgents?

I believe this is a group of no ordinary armed people - they are testing our line of defence and may possibly be an advance group for bigger things to come in the future.

We, the rakyat want some answers and we want it quick.

From news reports, it looks like Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi has washed his hands off this issue as only Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is doing the talking. No matter how quiet he remains, this is an issue for the defence minister to answer.

Quigonbond: It strikes me as strange that we have immigration checkpoints and if a person does not have a passport, or they have a passport/visa, etc, but they do not clear the checkpoint for a variety of reasons such as drug trafficking or arms smuggling, they would not be deported, but probably arrested and charged with offences ranging from illegally carrying firearms or worse, drug trafficking.

Hence, many Malaysiakini commentators are correct to raise the concern - you have a bunch of militants coming into a Malaysian village without clearing immigration, why haven't the law been enforced against them?

The officials already said they are armed, hence if they haven't enforced the law, this is in effect a stand-off. I say this is no longer within Hishammuddin's pay-grade to handle, but for the PM to handle.

How our PM can still be going around attending signing ceremonies instead of being in the ‘war room' when there's an incursion into Malaysian territory is beyond comprehension.

Righteous: Is this BN's backup plan to reinstate the Emergency Ordinance? No one can get within 20km of the village and we can't trust the government to tell the truth.

Storm: Is it 100 or 400 or 4,000 men? What is the actual number of people invading us?

LittleGiant: This ‘drama' has been going on for about 10 days now and it is very shameful that the government is clearly "wishy washy" in dealing with the group of invaders which our home minister now claims are neither militants nor terrorists.

Does it mean that the minister feels satisfied that these invaders who entered the country illegally do not pose a threat to the nation's security?

The group is not holding anyone hostage. So what is the government afraid of? Or is the government considering some options that could be favourable to Umno-BN, including absorbing them into Project IC and providing them with citizenship and blue ICs (identity cards) and even making them legal voters so that these ‘invaders' could vote for BN in the upcoming elections?

By the way, I can't imagine how the government, so glaringly lacking in its firmness to deal with a bunch of armed illegals, would have handled this incident if they were holed up in Kuala Lumpur or in Putrajaya or in some densely populated or sensitive areas in the country.

Blackmoon: Malaysians are not barbarians like the President George Bush's army that invaded Iraq which had blood on their minds. If we can solve the situation with diplomacy, why the need to use force?

Keneoh: If they are unarmed, why would there be bloodshed? If they are armed, why are they allowed to stay in Sabah, as obviously there is malicious intent?

Gen Half Track: What's all the fuss about? These armed men are the representatives of the landlord of this real estate to whom we pay rental.

These men are here to check if the property should be further leased or else they will repossess it and lease it to a new tenant. Check out this link .

Saddened: My intuition tells me that there is a hidden agenda behind this intrusion. There is a frightening silence from the ruling party and the relevant authorities.

Fairnessforall: Maybe this is actually planned by Umno to frighten the Sabahans to vote for BN. That is why Hishammuddin is doing nothing to deport them.

Yahoo: This group is a standby; if and when BN loses the general election, they will cause havoc and then the premier will find an excuse to declare an emergency. They could be mercenaries paid by the richest man in Malaysia.

It's Time To Change: The Suluk Muslims know that the Malaysian government won't dare to send them back to the Philippines because it has been secretly supporting and helping all those Muslim groups in southern Philippines to fight against Philippine government for centuries.

Therefore they are brave to come here in hundreds with weapons and believe me, they won't go away. More are coming to Sabah to stay and they will get their ICs soon.

Oscar Kilo: I wonder why Hishammuddin is so eager to end this intrusion without bloodshed whereas thousands of peaceful Malaysians were bashed during the Bersih rallies.

Jean Pierre: What did Bersih protesters, Hindraf protesters and Altantuya Shaariibuu have in common? They were all unarmed.

Sontha Makkal: BN is cautious because there is a 'fixed deposit' of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Filipinos in Sabah who have been given blue ICs and native status and helped put BN in power.

Any wrong move could jeopardise this 'fixed deposit' in the coming GE.

Another political move is that with this 'standoff', BN can mobilise and station thousands from the army and from Rela to the so-called 'hot spots' to act as a vote bank in Pakatan strongholds.

Bystander: It is an illegal border crossing and they are also fully armed and yet our home minister can insinuate it is not alarming. Did they go through immigration like bona fide visitors?

Australian Senator Nick Xenophon came in as a lawmaker from a developed country and with all necessary documentation, including a letter to certify he had an appointment with our de facto law minister.

But he was sent back on the next available flight to Sydney. How ironic and stupid can all this be?

NoNoNo: I'm surprised to find out that the gunmen have been in Lahad Datu since Feb 9. More than 10 days have passed and the local people must feel scared. Has government done anything to evacuate them to a safer place?

I cannot understand why the government is using police to deal with a heavily-armed militia? Who the gunmen wanted to meet and why? Time will reveal all.

Due to slow action, I believe everyone is jumping to conclusion that we cannot rely on BN to protect our nation.

Acitizen: There is no other way to look at the armed group other than to classify it as a invasion force. Period.

That this can be tolerated by the Malaysian authorities is alarming. Perhaps it is because the group is Muslim? What would have happened if 100 armed Vietnamese or Chinese from China were to land in Sabah and take over Lahad Datu?

An invasion is a invasion. Take action or more will come.

Abuminable: The whole murky episode comes across as another evil scheme that has backfired.

Just as the CIA created the Taliban to harass the Soviets in Afghanistan and later realised they had actually created a monster, these militant groups from southern Philippines now pose a very sticky problem for Malaysia.

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