Malaysia building naval base near border with RP

Malaysia building naval base near border with RP

Agencies, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia will build a training base for its navy commando in the eastern state of Sabah, the site of recent incursions by Islamic rebels from the Philippines, senior officers said.

Capt. Nasaruddin Othman, the outgoing commander of the unit, known as Paskal, said the new base near the town of Semporna would cost up to 140 million ringgit ($37 million) and would be finished by July, local news media reported on Thursday.

He said the facility would serve as the force's forward base and would enable the Royal Malaysian Navy to increase patrols in waters between the restive southern Philippines and nearby Sabah, a Malaysian state on Borneo island.

Malaysian and Philippines authorities have bumped up security along the border region since the terrorist-linked group the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped two dozen people from tourist resorts in Malaysia in 2000. The victims were later released, reportedly for huge ransom sums.

In November, Malaysian authorities arrested Nur Misuari, the former leader of another Islamic rebel group, as he tried to cross illegally from the southern Philippines.

Misuari was apparently fleeing Philippines military forces after an uprising he launched was put down. He remains in Malaysian custody, awaiting extradition, and faces rebellion charges in Manila.

On Thursday, Misuari's family sought for the trial to be held in a third country, saying he would not get a fair trial in the Philippines.

"The Philippines, according to the International Monetary Fund, is the fourth most corrupt country in the world including its judiciary," family counsel Elly Pamatong told a news conference here.

"We do not expect an impartial trial in the Philippines. We would like him to be tried in a third country and if a third country determines that he's in fact a terrorist, then he should be sent back to the Philippines."

Mostly-Muslim Malaysia has long been sympathetic to the Muslim minority of largely Roman Catholic Philippines. But Malaysia fears it could be used as a base for rebel groups, including Abu Sayyaf, which the United States is linked with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.

"The base in Semporna will step up our capabilities in Sabah," the national news agency, Bernama, quoted Nasarrudin as saying. Commodore Jamalludin Mohd Saman, the incoming head of the elite unit, said training for its members would include joint exercises with U.S. Navy SEAL forces and Australia's commando Special Air Services regiment.