Nur Misuari poses problems for Malaysia, RP

Nur Misuari poses problems for Malaysia, RP

Julia Yeow, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

The capture of Philippine Moro rebel leader Nur Misuari posed a problem on Monday for Malaysia, which wants to deport him quickly but has been asked by Manila to hold onto him for a while.

The government said on Monday it was preparing to deport Misuari, but was studying a request by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo that it put the troublesome former governor on trial for illegal entry.

"At this point in time, the move is on for deportation as this is a Philippine internal issue," home affairs press secretary Rohaizad Abdul Rahman told AFP.

"However, because Misuari has broken local laws, the Philippine government has requested for us to look into the matter first."

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said on Sunday she wished to see Misuari remain in jail in Malaysia pending a trial rather than be returned to the Philippines, where a rebellion he allegedly led killed 113 people last week.

"We will let Malaysia investigate him first for the violation of their own laws and charge him, dispose of him in accordance with their own laws," Arroyo told AFP.

"I am sure the investigation will take some time. Malaysia will be dealing with him (but) personally, I want him to stay in a Malaysian jail."

"With Misuari gone, I think the return to normalcy would be very rapid," Arroyo said.

This makes him a wanted man that nobody appears to really want, analysts say.

"He is in a sort of no-man's land," political analyst A.B. Shamsul told AFP.

"Support for Misuari has become almost non-existent because no government wants to take the risk of association which might indicate sympathy for Islamic terrorists," Shamsul said.

"Malaysia wants to have as little to do with him as possible ... and the Philippines obviously doesn't want him back."

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Misuari would not be granted asylum by Muslim-majority Malaysia, which gave him and his guerrillas sanctuary in the early 1970s.

He criticized Misuari's Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) faction for failing to develop the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), where he had been governor since signing a peace treaty with Manila in 1996.

Last week, Misuari fled after allegedly masterminding a series of attacks on security installations in southern Jolo island in which at least 113 people died. He was arrested on Saturday off an island in Malaysia's Sabah state.

Misuari reportedly staged the revolt after Arroyo backed a rival MNLF faction for the ARMM governor's post in elections on Monday.

Manila's ambassador to Malaysia said Monday although Misuari was wanted by the Philippines government, requests for him to be handed over to Manila would only come after Malaysia had carried out investigations.

"The situation is that he was arrested by Malaysian law and so the problem has to be handled first under Malaysian procedures," Jose Brillantes told AFP.

Malaysian and Philippine authorities are also looking into Misuari's possible involvement in last year's kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas from the Philippines of 23 people including 10 Western tourists in dive resorts off Borneo island.