A Malaysian opposition lawmaker has condemned the killing of a Malaysian national by a Daesh-linked group in the Philippines, calling it “an act of war”, and urging Prime Minister Najib Razak to press the Philippine government to act against the Abu Sayyaf.
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Islamist militants in the southern Philippines beheaded a Malaysian hostage seized from a resort in Malaysia’s Sabah state as troops shelled the captors’ jungle hideout, a military commander said Tuesday.
“I am shocked and sickened by the murder of our countryman Bernard Then and we condemn it in its strongest terms”, Najib said on his Facebook page. It frequently seeks ransom in return for freeing hostages.
Then was abducted on May 14 at 7.45 pm, together with the manager of the restaurant, Thien Nyuk Fun, 50, who was released by their captors last week.
It was reported that failed negotiations after disagreements on the ransom sum and an ongoing offensive by Philippines security forces supposedly led to the militants beheading Then before burying his remains at an undisclosed location at an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in Jolo.
He said the Malaysian was killed following a “failure of the negotiations about money”.
“The (military) and (police) headquarters have indeed received news about the inhuman, barbaric and brutal incident in the island of Jolo”, he said, referring to the apparent beheading.
Many analysts believe the Abu Sayyaf has little in common with the Islamic State group ideologically, and may have merely been seeking to associate itself with the radical extremist movement’s rising profile.
Arrojado said the Abu Sayyaf immediately dispersed during the rocket air and ground shelling.
Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian called on the government to tackle border security with urgency following the Abu Sayyaf ‘s beheading of a Sarawakian hostage. He had been vacationing in Sandakan with his family when he was grabbed at the restaurant and passed onto Abu Sayyaf fighters.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several foreign hostages, including two Canadians, a Norwegian, an Italian and Filipinos kidnapped from other places and brought to Sulu.
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Zahid, who is also Home Minister, says police will obtain detailed information from Philippine authorities on the report, which was supposedly based on Philippine military intelligence. They were released in batches after ransom was paid the following year.
