June 27, 2000, AFP, Philippines tries "creative" means to free Malaysian hostages,
June 27, 2000, AFP, Malaysia denies knowledge of prisoner named by Philippine rebels: report,
June 27, 2000, AFP, Early freedom seen for Malaysian hostages in Philippines,
June 27, 2000, Reuters, Malaysia Minister Blasts Manila Over Hostages,
June 27, 2000, Bernama, Sabah Government in the Dark About Kidnappers' Latest Demand,
June 27, 2000, Bernama, Military Option Ruled Out in Freeing Remaining Hostages,
June 27 , 2000, Bernama, Abdullah Regards Report on Kidnappers' Demand as Assumption,
June 28, 2000, AFP, Frustrated Europeans mull efforts to free hostages in Philippines,
June 28, 2000, AFP, Filipino Muslim extremists allow Christian group to pray over hostages,
June 28, 2000, The Star, Hope for hostages if talks go well, says Nur Misuari
June 28, 2000, Asia1, Scary in Sabah, Bombs... road blocks... heavy police patrols, by Melvin Singh,
June 28, 2000, Asia1, No reunion yet... [Zulkarnain]
June 27, 2000, AFP, Philippines tries "creative" means to free Malaysian hostages,
JOLO, Philippines, June 27 (AFP) - 19:50 - Philippine authorities are pursuing "creative" efforts to win the release of 20 mostly foreign hostages held by Muslim extremists, officials said Tuesday amid signs eight
Malaysians could walk free in two weeks.
Chief government negotiator Roberto Aventajado assigned emissaries to each of five senior Abu Sayyaf leaders holding the hostages to convince each one to follow through on their release of one Malaysian captive last weekend, sources said.
A source close to the negotiations told AFP one emissary had told Aventajado that "hopefully within two weeks, we can release all the Malaysian hostages."
"We are very optimistic that more of them would be released," President Joseph Estrada's spokesman Ricardo Puno said in Manila, adding the kidnappers had indicated more hostages might gain their freedom.
Officials here believe the gunmen want to hang on to 10 Western tourists who would command a higher ransom. Gunmen have previously demanded one million dollars for each captive.
President Estrada has instructed negotiators "to do what we can and try to explore formulas" to speed up a resolution of the 65 day-old crisis, Puno said, and to be "very creative on possible formulas."
The Finnish, French, German, Lebanese and South African tourists were abducted from the Malaysian resort of Sipadan on April 23 along with nine Malaysians and two Filipino resort workers.
They were brought to this southern Philippine island of Jolo by boat.
The tourists were moved to a separate hideout early this month to deter a possible rescue attempt, causing negotiations to break down.
But last weekend backdoor efforts led to the release of a Malaysian hostage, forest ranger Zulkarnain Hashim. Filipino and Malaysian officials have angrily denied that ransom was paid.
"Many formulas have been tried but it's all a matter of trying to see whether the Abu Sayyaf are receptive to specific problems or specific suggestions as to the formula of release," Puno said.
In Kuala Lumpur, national security adviser Alexander Aguirre said a Philippine delegation to the Organization of Islamic Conference meeting had called on Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar to brief him on the hostage crisis.
"They are happy that we have been able to get one release ... and they want a speedier release of the hostages," Aguirre said.
"Of course there is some impatience but they are not blaming us because they know the situation."
The Abu Sayyaf, self-styled independence fighters, previously demanded political concessions aside from ransom.
They have also demanded the government pay back wages of "hundreds" of local school teachers and that Malaysia free an elderly Filipino supposedly held in a Kota Kinabalu jail.
Malaysian authorities have denied any knowledge of such a prisoner. --AFP
June 27, 2000, AFP, Malaysia denies knowledge of prisoner named by Philippine rebels: report,
KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (AFP) - 11:19 - Malaysian authorities have denied any knowledge of a prisoner whom Philippine Abu Sayyaf kidnappers want freed in exchange for their eight Malaysian hostages, a report said Tuesday.
The Muslim rebel group holding the Malaysians and 12 people from other countries on Jolo island in the southern Philippines on Monday demanded the release of an elderly Filipino from a Malaysian jail in exchange for the Malaysians.
The taped message containing the demand was delivered by a Malaysian humanitarian mission which visited the gunmen's jungle camp Monday.
The inmate was identified as Mohamad Aklan, an 85 year-old Muslim said to be jailed in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island. No other details about him are known.
A local translator said the message in the local Tausug dialect suggested a prisoner swap.
"There is no such prison inmate," Abu Talib Harun, state director for the National Security Division, was quoted by the Sun newspaper as saying.
The new demand is on top of other cash and political concessions sought by the Abu Sayyaf, which is fighting a self-styled independence campaign for a Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines.
The other demands include a ransom of a million dollars for each hostage.
The Malaysian humanitarian mission which visited the camp housing the Asian hostages Monday found them sheltered under a tent amid heavy rain.
The mission delivered 14 sacks containing clothes, food and reading and writing materials to the Asian hostages but members were not allowed to inspect the Western captives.
Last week the kidnappers freed the first of their captives, Malaysian forest ranger Zulkarnain Hashim. He arrived home Monday evening. --AFP
June 27, 2000, AFP, Early freedom seen for Malaysian hostages in Philippines,
JOLO, Philippines, June 27 (AFP) - 12:21 - Eight remaining Malaysians among 20 hostages being held by Filipino Muslim extremists may be released within two weeks, a source close to the negotiations said Tuesday.
The source did not say why only the Malaysian hostages would be freed although he believed that the Abu Sayyaf gunmen wanted to hang on to the Western tourists among the captives.
Last weekend, backdoor negotiations were able to obtain the release of a Malaysian hostage, forest ranger Zulkarnain Hashim. Government officials have vehemently denied that ransom was paid.
Zulkarnain and eight other Malaysians, three Germans, two Filipinos, two French nationals, two Finns, two South Africans and a Lebanese were seized on April 23 from a Malaysian resort in Sipadan and taken to the southern Philippine island of Jolo.
The Malaysians and Filipinos are government or resort employees.
Asked about the prospect of all the Malaysians being released soon, Badruddin Ab-Rahman, the Malaysian deputy chief of mission, said "I do not want to speculate."
"I think everybody is happy with the release and we hope for the early release of all the remaining 20 hostages," Badruddin said.
Emissaries for government negotiators, meanwhile, are keeping lines of communication to the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers open, officials said.
Chief negotiator Robert Aventajado has assigned one emissary for each of the five commanders of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group holding the 20 hostages, a source said.
The rebels are keeping the Asian and Western hostages in separate hideouts to foil any rescue attempt.
Aventajado, who is in Manila, was likely to return to the southern Philippines by the weekend, possibly with another negotiator, Abdusakur Tan, governor of the southern province of Sulu which includes Jolo island.
President Joseph Estrada's spokesman Ricardo Puno said that discussions with the Abu Sayyaf rebels were continuing.
"At least, even if no formal meetings are taking place, the lines of communication have remained open and the process is continuing for the release of the balance of the hostages," he said.
"We are very optimistic that more of them would be released," he said, adding that the rebels had indicated the possibility of more releases after Malaysian captive Zulkarnain was freed.
"We're very hopeful as they (rebels) said there will be others that may probably follow" Zulkarnain's release, Puno said.
The Abu Sayyaf have previously demanded political concessions and a large ransom for the freedom of the hostages.
On Monday, the kidnappers, using the government emissaries, made new demands, such as the release of backpay for "hundreds" of public school teachers with unpaid wages stretching back to 1996 and an offer of a prisoner swap of the eight Malaysians for an elderly Filipino being held in a Malaysian jail.
Philippine ambassador to Malaysia, Jose Brillantes said in a radio interview here that he was checking on the identity of this prisoner, Mohamad Aklan, an 85 year-old Muslim jailed in Kota Kinabalu.
But Malaysian authorities have denied any knowledge of such a prisoner.
"There is no such prison inmate," Abu Talib Harun, state director for the National Security Division, was quoted by the Sun newspaper as saying Tuesday. --AFP
June 27, 2000, Reuters, Malaysia Minister Blasts Manila Over Hostages,
WIRE:06/27/2000 08:26:00 ET
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian cabinet minister Tuesday accused the Philippines of dragging its feet in talks with Muslim rebels holding 20 hostages, fanning a simmering war of words between the neighboring countries.
Youth and Sports minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the Philippines had failed to win the release of all of the hostages after more than two months in captivity.
"This failure reflects a seemingly overriding political consideration on the part of the Philippine government in dealing with the issue which prevails on its very own soil," the official Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.
The hostages were seized at gunpoint by Abu Sayyaf rebels from the Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan, off Sabah, on April 23 and brought to Jolo, a rugged island 600 miles south of Manila.
One of the hostages, Malaysian forest ranger Zulkarnain Hashim, was released Saturday, in what Philippines officials described as a goodwill gesture. They said no ransom was paid.
The rebels are still holding eight other Malaysians, three Germans, two French nationals, two South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos and a Lebanese.
Hishammuddin, who is also the youth leader of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's party, condemned Philippine newspapers for suggesting that the Malaysian government had paid ransom to win Zulkarnain's freedom.
"This allegation goes to show how the Philippines attempts to divert attention from efforts to free the hostages by trying to implicate Malaysia in this matter," Bernama quoted Hishammuddin as saying.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar had earlier objected to Philippine suggestions that Abu Sayyaf was getting arms through Malaysia.
NO SWAP
Earlier Tuesday, Malaysia rejected a demand by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines to release a prisoner they said was being held in a Malaysian jail.
"I don't see any reason why there should be a swap," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters when asked about the demand by Abu Sayyaf rebels.
Galib Andang, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, said in a taped message Monday the rebels wanted the release of an 85-year-old Filipino man named Mohamed Aklam being held in prison in Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah state on Borneo island.
Andang had not linked the demand to the release of any of the hostages.
Malaysian prison authorities said Tuesday that there was an elderly Filipino named Mohamad Akram serving life imprisonment for a drug offence in Sabah state on Borneo island. But they said they did not know of any link between the prisoner and Abu Sayyaf.
Syed Hamid declined to comment on whether the prisoner was actually being held in a Malaysian jail as the rebels claimed.
Nur Misuari, a former Islamic rebel who is now governor of a four-province semi-autonomous area in the southern Philippines, said there was "factionalism" within the Abu Sayyaf.
"One part wants to focus on the monetary aspect of it while the other focuses on the political part especially those who are not involved in the hostage-taking," Bernama quoted Misuari, who was in Malaysia's capital for a meeting of Islamic countries, as saying.
Philippine and Malaysian authorities said no ransom was paid for the release of Zulkarnain, but they have said Abu Sayyaf wants some $1 million for each of the hostages. --ABC
June 27 , 2000, Bernama, Military Option Ruled Out in Freeing Remaining Hostages,
12:32PM
MANILA, June 27 (Bernama) -- The Philippine government has ruled out using the military to free the remaining 20 hostages still in the hands of Abu Sayyaf separatist gunmen in the hinterlands of Sulu, an official said Tuesday.
Press Secretary Ricardo Puno told a press briefing that the government was doing everything within its power to bring an early end to the hostage situation.
"We are trying to do it as quickly as possible and we are not going to do the armed option.
"The military option is not even being thought of at this time because it will only become a recipe for disaster," he said.
Puno said even if no formal negotiations are taking place, the lines of communication have remained open for the release of the balance of the hostages.
A Malaysian, Zulkarnain Hashim, was released last Thursday, the first hostage to gain freedom since the April 23 kidnapping in Sipadan, Malaysia.
Puno also advised the members of the press, particularly the foreign correspondents, not to give the Abu Sayyaf undue publicity.
"The Abu Sayyaf is only after publicity," he added. -- BERNAMA
June 27 , 2000, Bernama, Sabah Government in the Dark About Kidnappers' Latest Demand,
21:12PM
KOTA KINABALU, June 27 (Bernama) -- The Sabah state government is in the dark on the purported latest demand by the armed group, who kidnapped 21 people from Pulau Sipadan on April 23, for the release of a convict held in a Malaysian prison.
Chief Minister Datuk Osu Sukam, who is also the State Security Council chairman, said even the report itself, about the demand, could not be verified.
"It was a statement not verified by the relevant authorities in the Philippines and which we feel we need not respond to," he said after chairing the State Security Council meeting here Tuesday.
"The important thing is that the Philippine government is continuing efforts to secure the release of those kidnapped and efforts by Malaysia to send a medical team to check on the health of the hostages."
Osu was asked to comment on an AFP report from Jolo island in southern Philippines of an "offer" by the armed group to release the remaining eight Malaysian hostages in exchange for the release of a convict the armed group identified as Mohamad Aklan, 85.
Of the 21 people kidnapped on Pulau Sipadan by the armed group and taken to Jolo island, nine are Malaysians of whom one has been released.
Zulkarnain Hashim, 29, a wildlife department ranger, was released on Saturday and he returned home yesterday.
The latest demand was reportedly made by a leader of the armed group, Galib Andang, in a taped message handed over to the Malaysian medical team who went to the group's hideout yesterday.
Osu said the government's position was clear -- that all hostages be released unconditionally and the soonest possible.
On the State Security Council meeting, he said it discussed, among others, the security situation in the state in the first five months of the year.
"The security situation in the state is well under control," he said. --BERNAMA
June 28, 2000, Bernama, Abdullah Regards Report on Kidnappers' Demand as Assumption,
CYBERJAYA, June 27 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today he cannot comment on a news report on the latest demand by a group of kidnappers in the southern Philippines because the report has not been verified.
The deputy prime minister said the demand was only made known through the news report and it could be incorrect.
"If there is proof like a letter, then we can give a response. This news is mere assumption," he told reporters.
According to the news report, the kidnappers still holding eight Malaysians and 12 foreigners hostage in Jolo island in the southern Philippines had demanded the release of one Mohamad Mohamad Aklan from a Malaysian jail in exchange for the hostages.
The report said Aklan, 85, was being held in a Kota Kinabalu jail for alleged firearm possession and that he was believed to be a senior leader of a splinter group of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Abdullah said that even if the demand was made, the person making it might not have the authority to do so.
He said that so far he had not received any official information on this latest demand and added that Malaysia had a special committee to handle the problem.
June 28, 2000, AFP, Frustrated Europeans mull efforts to free hostages in Philippines,
JOLO, Philippines, June 28 (AFP) - 19:40 - Germany, France and Finland were under pressure to launch backdoor efforts to win the release of their nationals among 20 hostages held by Muslim extremists in the Philippines, Vice President Gloria Arroyo said Wednesday.
The message was conveyed to Arroyo in Poland on Monday when she met the foreign ministers from the three European countries to brief them on the 66-day hostage crisis in southern Jolo island.
Arroyo, in a statement released here, said she won the backing of the ministers to provide development aid instead of a ransom payout for the gunmen.
The Abu Sayyaf kidnappers freed Malaysian hostage Zulkarnain Hashim last weekend after a series of backdoor negotiations, and there were indications more Malaysians will be released.
The European ministers -- Joschka Fischer of Germany, France's Hubert Vedrine and Finnish Secretary of State Jukka Valtasaari -- told Arroyo the Malaysian's release "has put pressure on their governments to likewise effect the release of their nationals using back channels similar to the one believed to have been used by Malaysia."
The comment was made in a statement from the vice president's office.
But Abdusakur Tan, the governor of Sulu province which has jurisdiction over Jolo, said backdoor channels would only muddle negotiations for the release of all the captives.
"It will just complicate things if they do it without our knowldedge. As much as possible, we don't want anyone to go in and negotiate by themselves," said Tan, a member of the government's negotiating panel.
Three Germans, two Finns and two French nationals as well as eight Malaysians, two Filipinos, two South Africans and a Lebanese are being held by the Abu Sayyaf gunmen on Jolo.
They were taken there by boat after being abducted from a Malaysian resort on April 23.
Arroyo, who met the ministers on the sidelines of a democracy conference, was told by Fischer that while the no-ransom policy stands, "such other avenues as developmental aid could be tapped."
The Abu Sayyaf hideout in Jolo island buzzed with activity Wednesday as sets of emissaries redoubled efforts to win the freedom of the hostages, with a group of "born-again" Christian evangelists.
Danny Cuarteros, spokesman of the Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry, said the Christian preachers headed by television evangelist Wilde Almeda have been cleared by the Abu Sayyaf to climb the rebels' jungle lair and "pray over" the hostages.
"We will give 3,000 US dollars and 35 sacks of rice" to the guerillas, Cuarteros said.
An Abu Sayyaf spokesman told reporters here that four of the guerrilla group's five most senior leaders were "meeting with some people" whom he did not identify as part of the backdoor talks for the hostages'release.
Sources close to the negotiations said a Chinese-Filipino businessman friend of President Joseph Estrada as well as former Filipino Muslim rebels now based in the Malaysian state of Sabah were also on the island and believed to be conducting negotiations.
The former rebels are believed to represent Malaysian interests and working exclusively to win the release of the eight remaining Malaysians, the sources said.
Formal negotiations with the Estrada government bogged down early this month after the kidnappers, who style themselves as Muslim independence fighters, sought political concessions deemed "impossible" by Manila -- on top of a ransom of one million dollars per hostage.
Malaysian Zulkarnain's release was attributed to the efforts of Estrada friend Lee Ping Hui, though the price for his liberty was unclear.
Manila and Kuala Lumpur have both denied they paid a cash ransom.
Estrada's spokesman Ricardo Puno said on Tuesday that though no formal talks were being held, "we have moved from square one." --AFP
June 28, 2000, AFP, Filipino Muslim extremists allow Christian group to pray over hostages,
JOLO, Philippines, June 28 (AFP) - 17:53 - Filipino Muslim extremists holding 20 mostly foreign hostages have allowed a Christian group to "pray over" the captives in exchange for money and rice, a spokesman for the Christian group said Wednesday.
"We will give 3,000 US dollars and 35 sacks of rice" to the guerillas, said Danny Cuarteros, spokesman for the Manila-based Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry.
Cuarteros is part of a 10-member team of "prayer warriors" from the group who arrived in Jolo earlier this week seeking to conduct prayer sessions with the hostages held by Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels in the jungles of southern Jolo island.
The group's head pastor, Filipino television evangelist Wilde Almeda, is due to arrive here to lead the mission, the date for which had not been fixed.
"We shall try to convince the rebels to just free the hostages," said Cuarteros, whose group had fasted and prayed for 40 days in preparation for the task.
Governor Abdusakur Tan, the governor of Sulu province which covers Jolo, is dissuading the group from proceeding to the lair of the Abu Sayyaf.
"Let us not complicate matters for the Philippine government," Tan said.
Firebrand evangelist Almeda, claiming power from God, had once predicted -- wrongly -- that House Speaker Jose de Venecia would win the 1998 presidential elections and had offered that he be shot publicly at a Manila park if his forecast did not come true.
Movie star Joseph Estrada won the polls.
Three Germans, eight Malaysians, a Lebanese and two nationals each from France, Finland, South Africa and the Philippines are being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf.
A Malaysian among the captives was released at the weekend.
They were kidnapped April 23 from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan off Borneo and taken to the rebel sanctuary in Jolo. ---AFP
June 28, 2000, The Star, Hope for hostages if talks go well, says Nur Misuari
KUALA LUMPUR: The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is optimistic that the hostages in the Sipadan crisis will be freed if the "negotiators are careful."
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao governor and MNLF leader Nur Misuari, who is here to attend the 26th Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister, said he was optimistic as the Abu Sayyaf group had never ever killed any hostage.
He believed the release of Malaysian ranger Zulkarnain Hashim recently could be a good omen.
On April 23, the Abu Sayyaf group abducted 21 persons from Sipadan island and to date only one had been released.
Picture: Caption: Getting Feedback . . . Dr Laraki speaking to Nur Misuari during a break in the OIC session in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
There have been reports that the group is seeking US$1mil (RM3.8mil) for the release of each of the remaining 20 hostages.
The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has previously offered to help secure the release of the hostages in Jolo.
However the Philippine government has rebuffed the offer and told the grouping to stay out of negotiations.
Nur Misuari said as OIC was respected by all the ummah including Abu Sayyaf, he was certain OIC could ''exert every effort they can'' to get the hostages released.
"But the problem is some people don't like interference in this subject," he said in an apparent reference to the Philippine government.
On a different matter, Nur Misuari said the MNLF was running out of patience over the issue of "genuine autonomy" for the southern provinces.
He said they gave up their demand for independence in the peace accord in return for "so-called autonomy" and had been waiting for half a century but this had been very elusive.
"I don't want any further delay. I urge OIC to put down a timetable and plan of action for this.
"They should come up with the specifics," he said, adding that this should be done before November.
In a related development, the Philippine delegation will submit a progress report on the implementation of the peace agreement it signed with the MNLF to the OIC's Ministerial Committee of the Six today.
Philippines National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre, who headed the Philippine delegation, said MNLF representatives would also be present to make their presentation today.
"We will clarify issues about the situation in the Southern Philippines during the meeting," said Aguirre.
The Committee of the Six comprise Indonesia (chairman), Bangladesh, Somalia, Senegal, Libya and Saudi Arabia.
Aguirre added that the Philippine government was grateful to the OIC for sponsoring the autonomy agreement for Muslims in the Southern Philippines.
He said his government wanted to convince the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to embrace the autonomy concept.
"Too much fighting will cause more destruction and will not improve lives," he said, adding that the people sought peace, autonomy and negotiation.
He said his government was also thankful to OIC secretary-general Dr Azeddine Laraki's statement urging Muslim communities and minorities living in non-Muslim states to contribute effectively to their countries and respect their sovereignty and laws. --The Star
June 28, 2000, Asia1, Scary in Sabah, Bombs... road blocks... heavy police patrols, by Melvin Singh,
We have beefed up security in the urban and rural areas. We have also increased patrols at sea and the coastal areas. It's safe in Sabah ...there's nothing to be worried about. - Chief Minister of Sabah Osu Sukam at yesterday's press conference.
You could hear the explosion although it happened so far away. I knew straight away it was a bomb because the ground shook. - Mr Joseph Egas, a Kota Kinabalu resident.
NO WORRIES: Chief Minister Datuk Osu Sukam and Police Chief Datuk Mamat
Talib say it's still safe in Sabah, despite the bomb blasts and tough crackdown on illegal workers.
SABAH was rocked by three bomb blasts in the past month.
One of the bombs went off nine days ago. It was a powerful explosion which ripped through Tuaran Road, in Kota Kinabalu and left a 1 metre deep crater.
Fortunately, the bombs went off at 11.30 pm and nobody was hurt.
But residents living 2 km away felt the impact of the blast.
Said Mr Joseph Egas: "You could hear the explosion although it happened so far away.
"I knew straight away it was a bomb because the ground shook."
Only the day before, on the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, another bomb exploded outside the Gaya Teacher's College which is also in town.
Because it was a public holiday, hardly anyone was about when the bomb exploded at 11.30 am.
Government officials said the first bombing incident occurred in May in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the easternmost state of Malaysia.
It destroyed two cars but nobody was hurt then either.
Illegal immigrants from the Philippines are suspected of being behind the terrorist acts.
They are believed to have used the same explosive material they use for fish bombing.
Local officials initially refused to comment on the incidents. Sabah, Kota Kinabalu in particular, has always had a reputation as a quiet, serene town and is a draw among tourists for these reasons.
But after three bomb attacks, one last month and two this month, things have changed.
What we saw in just a short drive around town yesterday gave us the creeps.
• Heavily armed police officers patrolling the streets of the town.
• Road blocks every few metres away.
Sabah's Chief Minister Osu Sukam wanted to allay fears among locals who have been surprised and shocked by the three bomb blasts.
"We have beefed up security in the urban and rural areas. We have also increased patrols at sea and the coastal areas," Mr Osu said, in Malay.
"It's safe in Sabah... there's nothing to be worried about," said Mr Osu.
It was the first time a senior official confirmed that the blasts took place.
Things were kept pretty quiet up till then.
Insisting that the bomb blasts were isolated incidents, he added: "The police have caught the suspect in the first case where a fish bomb had been placed under a car in town near the Filipino market.
"I believe we will soon get the culprit or culprits," he said in Malay.
But he denied any connection to an incident where 21 foreigners were taken hostage in Sipadan islands, off the coast of Sabah.
Only one of the hostages has so far been released.
The others are still being held by Muslim rebels (the Abu Sayyaf) in Jolo.
Mr Osu said the acts of terror may be a response to the local government's recent action against illegal immigrants from Indonesia and the Philipines. Said Mr Osu: "The bomb blasts could be the reaction of some people unhappy with our drive to clear the squatter colonies.
"I'm not sure but certainly there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that they have anything to do with the Sipadan case."
Mr Abu Talib Haron of the Sabah Security Task Force confirmed that in recent months, illegal immigrants have been repatriated from Sabah.
He told The New Paper: "In the last six months, we sent 16,000 people back .. they were mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines.
"Last year we sent back about 21,000 people."
He said they were rounded up from all over Sabah.
Mr Abu Talik, however, denied that the government only took firm action following the Pulau Sipadan hostage crisis.
A government official, who declined to be named, said there are more than 200,000 illegal immigrants in Sabah.
Many are located in the coastal towns of Semporna and Sandakan, and have freely entered Sabah on their wooden boats.
Over the weekend, a ferry with more than 20 people onboard sank off Semporna.
Many of them were illegal immigrants from southern Philippines. --Asia1
June 28, 2000, Asia1, No reunion yet... [Zulkarnain]
He has been separated from his family for three months. After a month's posting to Pulau Sipadan, off Sabah, wildlife ranger Zulkarnain Hashim was taken hostage on April 23. For the next 63 days, he was held with 20 others on the southern Philippines island of Jolo. He was finally released last Saturday, but reunion with his family had to wait...
FOR three painful months, they waited for him to come home.
When Mr Zulkarnain Hashim, 29, left for his one-month stint on Pulau Sipadan as a ranger, his baby boy was just a month old.
After that, Mr Zulkarnain spent two months as a hostage in Jolo.
Finally, he was released late last week.
But his reunion with his family kept getting delayed and interrupted.
His first meeting with his wife, Madam Siti Hajar Jakiah, 26, at Kota Kinabalu airport lasted no more than a few seconds.
Madam Siti waited impatiently on the aerobridge as her husband got off his flight from Manila on Monday.
He had called her on Saturday, but his return was delayed because he had to brief the Philippine government.
When he finally stepped off the plane in Kota Kinabalu, the couple hugged briefly as tears flowed.
But Mr Zulkarnain was quickly whisked away by security men as an army of journalists tried to sneak a peak at the first Pulau Sipadan hostage to be released.
Even at a hastily called press conference afterwards, his three young children had to fight for his attention in the midst of all the questions from journalists.
Relatives of the other hostages also peppered him with questions.
How were the others? When will they be released?
Madam Chung Suk Moi, whose son Ken Fong is still being held captive, said: "He said my son told him to tell me not to worry and that he's fine.
"Coming from him, it's first-hand information as he was with them... it has made me very hopeful."
But for Mr Zulkarnain, the reunion his family has been praying for will have to wait a little longer.
Because of his ordeal in the jungles of Jolo, the Sabah Wildlife Department Ranger had to go through medical checks.
Government sources said he was malnourished, having survived on just rice, eggs and vegetables while in captivity.
Said his aunt, Madam Masmon Khalid, 62: "He has lost about 5 kg but we thank God that he is safe."
The dinner that husband and wife had planned had to be shelved.
Instead, Mr Zulkarnain was taken away by security officers for another round of questioning at 5.30 pm.
Though there was speculation that he had been taken to Kuala Lumpur, The New Paper team spotted him leaving the Karamunsing Hotel in Kota Kinabalu.
An hour after he left, his wife, her three children and several other relatives left for dinner.
An uncle, who declined to be named said: "It's frustrating but what can we do?
"We understand... anyway we have waited so long at least now we know he's safe."
Two hours later, the family returned from their dinner. But Mr Zulkarnain was still nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile the rest of the family in Tawau, about an hour's flight from Kota Kinabalu, has had to make do with the occasional phone call home. And what they could get from the papers and television.
His uncle, Mr Zakiah Omar, 67, said: "We are still waiting for his return
in Tawau.
"We have planned a kenduri (feast)... it's frustrating that after all this time, we have to wait some more."
Mr Zakiah said the family never had a need for a phone until the ordeal.
He said: "We bought two and took them everywhere... the kitchen, the toilet.
"But when he finally called home, nobody believed it... we thought it was a gag."
Even his wife couldn't believe it.
An hour after he called, while he was still in Jolo, she asked journalists who contacted her if it was true that her husband had been released.
It didn't sink in until hours later.
Now she's impatient to go home as a family reunited. --Asia1
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