Monday, June 24, 2024

Govt identifying masterminds and ‘traitors’ aiding Sulu group’s Sabah claim, says Azalina




Govt identifying masterminds and ‘traitors’ aiding Sulu group’s Sabah claim, says Azalina




Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the government is in the process of identifying the masterminds and ‘traitors’ among Malaysians who are supporting and helping the Sulu group in making claims over Sabah. — Bernama pic

Monday, 24 Jun 2024 5:39 PM MYT



KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — The government is in the process of identifying the masterminds and ‘traitors’ among Malaysians who are supporting and helping the Sulu group in making claims over Sabah.


Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the government has received information indicating that these individuals are the instigators and informants for the group.

She was responding to a supplementary question posed by Datuk Matbali Musah (GRS-Sipitang), who wanted to know the measures taken by the government to ensure that there are no further claims from the Sulu group.


To a question raised by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna) on the government’s concrete plans to stop the group from making more claims on Sabah, Azalina said she agreed in principle that the issue must be addressed, but at the same time respecting the ongoing legal process.


“Sometimes I wonder if there is something more (that) we can do...we don’t know what’s next as many people could make claims, not only on Sabah and Sarawak but also the Peninsula because we are a country with so much history,” she said.

She added that the country must adopt various strategies to tackle the matter, adding that the government wants to sue those found to have undermined Malaysia and make sure that they compensate it for the costs incurred.

“This case began in 2019 and as a responsible government, we inherit (it) and must defend the dignity of our country and rights as Malaysians,” she said.

Responding to the original question posed by William Leong Jee Keen (PH-Selayang) regarding the latest progress on the claims made by the Sulu group, Azalina said on May 15, the Madrid Court of Appeal upheld the contempt of court conviction and sentence against arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa in the Sulu claimants’ case. — Bernama

US Army Chief said: "We will not be able to defend Israel in war with Hezbollah."


Thanks 'MF':



BREAKING: 🇺🇲🇮🇱 Commander of the US army, General Charles Brown: "We will not be able to defend Israel in war with Hezbollah." The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that the US military would have difficulty protecting Israel in the event of a large-scale military confrontation with Hezbollah According to General Brown, Iran is increasingly inclined to enter into a direct war against Israel in the event that Tehran feels that Hezbollah is under a real threat • Report: Alfi Militia fighters will arrive in Lebanon in the event of an all-out war. General Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US Army, said that the chances are increasing that Iran will choose to enter into a direct war with Israel in the event of a war between the IDF and Hezbollah. According to him, Iran is more and more inclined to join the war if they fear that Hezbollah is threatened and in danger. These words add to previous assessments that Iran would be willing to take risks to ensure the survival of Hezbollah, which is considered its most important force in the Middle East. Source: N12
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Israel will be the ‘ultimate loser’ in war with Hezbollah, Iran says

Israel says it will soon ‘make the necessary decisions’ about confronting the Iran-allied Lebanese group.

Smoke rises next to an Israeli military vehicle

Iran says Hezbollah is capable of defending itself and Lebanon, warning Israel that it would be the “ultimate loser” in an all-out war with the Lebanese armed group.

Tehran’s statement on Friday came as fears of a major Israeli offensive in Lebanon continued to mount.

“Any imprudent decision by the occupying Israeli regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war, the consequence of which would be the destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure as well as that of the 1948 occupied territories,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a social media post.

“Undoubtedly, this war will have one ultimate loser, which is the Zionist regime. The Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, has the capability to defend itself and Lebanon – perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come.”

Israel also issued a threat to Iran-aligned Hezbollah on Friday with Foreign Minister Israel Katz saying “soon we will make the necessary decisions” about confronting the Lebanese group.

“The free world must unconditionally stand with Israel in its war against the axis of evil led by Iran and extremist Islam. Our war is also your war,” Katz said.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said this week that if the Israeli military goes to war in Lebanon, his group will use its rockets and drones to hit targets across the entire territory of Israel. He warned Hezbollah would wage a war with “no restraint and no rules and no ceilings”.

Nasrallah also issued a threat to Cyprus, a European Union member that sits in the eastern Mediterranean west of the Lebanese and Israeli coasts. He said the group has information that Israel is conducting military exercises in Cyprus in terrain similar to southern Lebanon.

Nasrallah added that Israel plans to use airports and bases in Cyprus for military purposes if its own infrastructure is targeted during a serious war.

“Opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means the Cypriot government has become part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war,” he said without elaborating.

Cyprus said Nasrallah’s threat is not grounded in reality, stressing the country enjoys great relations with Lebanon.

Still, the Hezbollah statement exacerbated concerns about an even larger regional war that could spill beyond Lebanon’s borders and pull Iran-allied groups – if not Tehran itself – as well as the United States into the conflict.

Video Duration 00 minutes 40 seconds

Hezbollah started attacking military bases in northern Israel the day after the outbreak of the war on Gaza on October 7 in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian groups. Israel responded by bombing southern Lebanese villages and Hezbollah positions.

While the near-daily clashes have displaced tens of thousands of people in Lebanon and Israel, they have been largely contained to the border areas.

But the violence has escalated in recent weeks, especially after an Israeli air raid killed a top Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon last week.

On Friday, Hezbollah claimed several military operations against Israel, including a drone attack it said targeted Israeli forces at a coastal base on the western side of the border.

The US has pushed for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis while expressing concern about Hezbollah’s attacks. “We have made quite clear we do not want to see escalation of this conflict,” Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday.

For its part, Hezbollah has said it will continue operations against the Israeli military until Israel ends its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians.

Fighters Hezbollah flags
Members of Hezbollah attend the funeral of a senior field commander [File: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA