Sabah Standoff Stories and Hearsay

There's No doubt that Sabah belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu and therefore to the Philippines. Only elementary school children wouldn't understand that when you are paying rent into something it means it does not belong to you. But okay, the question now would be who is or are the real Sultan? 

   I'm just asking, shouldn't we press charges against Great Britain too...they are the one who created this conflict between the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) and the Sultanate of Sulu. 
   But first, before that, let us press charge against Noynoy Aquino for treason also. 

     Why is that? Because of his habitual inaction on important issues....

     From 2010 to 2012 Pres. Noynoy ignores the 3 letters sent to him from the Sultanate of Sulu, they just can't say that they misplace it...that's being irresponsible. Obviously, he doesn't care...more than his care for his beloved Mom's property Hacienda Luisita. 

   Should we remind you sir that Sabah is far more important than your Campaign for Team Pnoy. More than Spratly Islands who would just appear as a tiny dot compare to the vastness of Sabah. But it seems PNoy is more interested to die for a peanut than a whole field of Palm oil. Yes Sabah is very rich in Palm Oil. 

   Instead of acting fairly on the issue. He devise the Blame Game against the Sultan Royal Forces. All NoyNoy did was scold Jamalul Kiram III and his sympathizer. Why threaten them huh instead of bringing them home to safety. 

"I am aware that certain personalities conspired and brought us to this situation -- one that has no quick solution. Some of these people have not yet been identified. But I assure you that these people will not succeed and that they will be brought to justice," Aquino said in the vernacular.

    Now PNoy's imagination spurring again and trying to make us believe that there is a conspiracy going on. He claims there's someone financing the Standoff. Well, a president telling us an unconfirmed report or hearsay does not solve anything at all. He is only diverting the issue and putting the blame on his imaginary enemy or enemies. So after more than a month, can he tell us now who are this imaginary foes so we can finally blame them for good. 
   With financier or none, what we should be concern now is Noynoy's quick change of mind. I am worried he doesn't know what he is doing. He change his  stance almost daily...this is not a good sign of leadership. When face with sensitive issue like this a President must stand on something concrete, people expect more from him...are you willing to follow a leader who doesn't know what he is doing? When a Blind man leads another blind man are you expecting them not to fall into the ditch...well, we can pray.

   WE know for a fact also that for many years Filipinos are maltreated by Malaysian there in Sabah....including torture. This issue should have been address long ago from all past Philippine Presidents. No one stir, except of course the controversial vigilante group that Ferdinand Marcos allegedly formed.  (This is another issue of treason that involves Noynoy's father. So it seems Noynoy had personal dislike against Sulu and Sabah )

    On the other hand, why can't Malaysia be transparent on what's really going on in their so-called "clearing operation" at Lahad Datu. If they are not hiding anything they should allow foreign correspondence there to cover the battlefield.    

Malaysian Politics Behind?

   Several sources allege that the Lahad Datu issue is a deliberate ploy on the part of the Malaysian government to enforce emergency rule and “indefinitely delay” the upcoming general elections in Malaysia this June. Political observers predict that the opposition could win as much as 25 parliament seats in the elections – enough to end the over five-decade rule of UMNO-Barisan Nasional coalition. Some are even describing the situation as a “moro-moro” to divert the Malaysian electorate’s attention from several nagging issues faced by the government, among them “Amalilio’s billions.”

   Worse, Aman is also being implicated in a clandestine scheme known as “Project IC” where illegal immigrants are given identity cards to increase the number of pro-UMNO voters, with 500,000 Muslim Filipinos, mostly related to the people of Sulu, being utilized in the plan (also dubbed as “Project M” for former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad who is allegedly one of the architects). In local terms, Project IC was a plot to bring in “flying voters” to Sabah, our sources noted.

   Doesn't these sound all too familiar? Looks more to us like Filipino and Malaysian politicians are one and the same – true Asian brothers, perhaps? (Source)

   People are dying for Political gains and since anything that will get a head start for any candidates for this upcoming election they will definitely grab to get free publicity. Within this new hype we must be very vigilant on what's really going-on. What are the real issues? Who is telling the truth? 

   We just can't trust anything we are hearing or reading. Any Politician will hold into something that will give them extra mileage good or bad.  How can we verify the source? It seems we are doom for chaos without knowing where we should stand. 

  Let us check another alarming report from Wikileaks:

The following is the expose made by website Wikileaks which was gathered from the U.S. embassy cables (http://wikileaks.org/static/html/faq.html):

Dreaming of Sabah…?

¶8. (C) MG Dolorfino commented that Malaysia is not only concerned about Misuari’s intentions toward Sabah, where Misuari apparently still has hundreds of followers, but also about his recent contacts with Malaysian opposition figure

Anwar Ibrahim, described as an “old friend” of Misuari’s. Over the past several months, Malaysian officials have held at least three meetings with Misuari and/or

Misuari’s wives, according to Jainal and Dolorfino. During an April 10

meeting, a special envoy from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told Misuari not to meddle in Malaysia’s domestic politics, Dolorfino said. According to Jainal, Misuari promised Badawi’s representative that he had no

intention of getting involved in Malaysia’s internal affairs.

It is obvious that the relationship between Anwar and Misuari is more than just ‘diplomatic’ ties, because Anwar is described as an ‘old friend’ by Musiari. Thise expose also proves that Anwar and Misuari knew each other since 2007.

It seems like Anwar has a lot of controversial friends, including enemies to the country as well as Muslims. Previously, Murderer of Muslim, Wolfowitz also referred Anwar as his ‘close friend’. The same thing goes to Al-Gore who openly defended Anwar in Malaysia, for the sake of their relationship.

Malaysians should never take this matter lightly, having a person who wishes to be the next Prime Minister, and has friends who are enemies of the country. Besides that, logically, no rationla Muslims are willing to accept ‘close friend’ of those who kill our brothers, as the leader of this country.

We are aware that Anwar mentioned about Arab Springs for multiple times and he4 has been trying to trigger chaos through street demonstrations, with the hope that it could motivate his supporters to rise up and cause chaos until the government gets kicked out of Putrajaya.

Just as same a those Sulu intruders entering Sabah, Anwar did invite foreign intervention for our election process, even in his court case. This action clearly shows how Anwar really depend on outsiders, showing us how his administration would be if he gets to rule this country; the country would clearly lose its sovereignty.

Based on the expose made by Wikileaks, as well as intel reports from Manila, and Anwar’s behavior before and after Lahad Datu intrusion, we can no lonher put aside the fact that Sabah crisis began from Anwar and Misuari’s secret meetings.

Even though we know that Anwar really hates our country’s security and defence system, we cannot believe how Anwar dares to put the lives of Sabahans at risk for the sake of his ambition. Especially considering that some of the Sabahans are his own supporters.

However, there is nothing surprising with this because Anwar had proven himself that he does not care about the future of his own supporters, or even their security through all the demonstration series which was planned by him.

So, it is time for Anwar’s supporters to re-think about their decision, are they willing to accept a leader who is willing to sacrifice the lives of his own supporters? (Source) 

    The Sabah claims and conflicts wont die out easily...this issue had been around for generations. At the rate our government is handling the issue we can't expect better resolution. Maybe this coming election, with new breed (New Breed?) of Officials taking over we can hope for a brighter future for the people of Southern Philippines. 

   God bless the Philippines !!! 

  

My Father's Approval

November 6 and I dedicated today's artwork for my father. Today is his birthday and I am sure I'll get his very rare nod of approval. When I say rare approval, I can only recall once or twice instance of compliment regarding my artworks, especially the one just a few days before he died. 

   Even though an illustrator himself he never encourage me to take the same road he once took...the road he had closed many many years ago during his youth. My parents envisioned a different path for me...and I would usually end up in trouble diverting to another route and so I have to hide when I draw while keeping my works in secret places. It was only during my collegiate years that I was able to fully express myself...and the day I finally get his approval was one of the happiest day of my life as an artist.

   It was one ordinary afternoon in 1989; my father had been bed ridden for around two years that time, even talking was a difficult task for him...and while I could hear his hard breathing (which I've notice getting worse by those last days...) I'm trying to alter my thought into other things so I decided to paint. Self-taught and still a neophyte, I usually get my model from magazines...where I would select human subject being my favorite and experiment on my brushstrokes...that time, I was determined to master the watercolor while looking for my own style. 

   ...I can see my father eyeing my work from his bed. I remember my father's artworks had been very keen to detail...maybe he was a perfectionist, I'm not sure but when he work, the tiniest detail was given very much attention. It's hard to please him, or maybe he was just like that...being an agnostic who can debate anyone when it comes to religion. He knows all the detail even in beliefs...so, I was surprised when he prayed along to a visiting Christian worker just a couple of weeks ago instead of starting a debate.

   When he saw me finished he asked me "Can I have a look?" his coughing are rough and hoarse but even if he had difficulty sitting at the edge he manage to do so catching his failing lungs. I don't know but a sudden cold air brush the back of my head when I let him handle my sketch pad...he look at it and return them to me instantly because it seems the task makes him dizzy because he had to rest his back on the wall and shiver with more coughing. Slowly he slide himself back to fetal position...I could see all the traces of his skeletal frame molded in his thinning body. 

   The 4th Dan karate instructor was now helpless as a child. He close his eyes and said in a soft but clear voice "You are very good. You are very good." 

   Those were the last time my father had a look at my paintings, after a couple of days the Lord gave him his needed sleep.

   I'll search for the said artwork if I still have it with me....once I have the time... 

   

Dispute over Spratlys

   The Philippine claim over the Spratly Islands began in May 1956, when Tomas Cloma, owner of a Philippine fishing vessel company and director of the Philippine Maritime Institute, declared the founding of the new state called "Kalayaan" (Eng.: freedom). He found the islands while he, with his brothers and 40 crew, was adventuring in the vast South China Sea. Observing that there was no human settlement nor national flag present on them, he decided to establish the Kalayaan state. He posted a document in English, entitled Notice to the Whole World, on all features he claimed. His claim comprises about fifty features among the Spratly group.^[5] His declaration was met with violent reactions from other countries like China and South Vietnam, as well as the European countries of France, United Kingdom, and theNetherlands, who were representing their colonies in Southeast Asia. While the Philippines did not endorse the new state to the world, it acknowledged it as the true sovereign state. In September 1956, after the Republic of China occupied the largest island, Ligao Island (Itu Aba), Tomas Cloma decided to cede and sell all the territories of his state to the Philippines for just one peso (US$0.50 of the time).

A renewed tension on Spratly Island 

   March 2 incident in which the Philippine government accused two Chinese patrol boats of harassing a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving a vast area called the Reed Bank. A Filipino general scrambled two military aircraft, which arrived at the scene after the Chinese vessels had left, the Philippine military said.

China and the Philippines have swapped diplomatic protests. Filipino officials say the Reed Bank, which lies off the western Philippine province of Palawan, is not a disputed territory. China countered by saying that it has jurisdiction over the Spratlys and adjacent waters.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, left, shakes hands with his Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin at the Defense Headquarters in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday May 23, 2011. Guanglie's visit comes amid renewed tension over the disputed Spratly's Islands which are claimed by China, Philippines and four other asian countries and terrotorites. Washington has expressed concerns that the disputes could hamper access to one of the world's busiest commercial sea lanes. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) — AP

Philippine authorities detected the presence of a submarine in the Sulu Sea off southern Jolo island last March. By the time the military reached the area to check, the unidentified submarine was gone, Gazmin said.

"It was an intrusion," he told The Associated Press. "But again, what can we do?"

Gazmin said huge funds are needed to modernize the 129,000-strong military so that it would be capable of guarding the archipelago's coastline, one of the world's longest.

Many of the navy's battleships have "succumbed to the punishment of wear and tear," with malfunctioning ones sidelined and never replaced. The few remaining ships are far below modern naval standards and are ready "to lie on their keels in the graveyard," he said.

"This is truly deplorable but plain reality," Gazmin said in a speech during the Philippine navy's founding anniversary.

If the Phil. is really serious on the matter they should stop calling the location  as South China sea instead it should be West Philippine sea. 

Two Sides of a Coin

Farewell (a short-story)

(written in 2009)

Her eyes betrayed the smile she bestows at my direction. Earlier those smiles were the most enchanting image I had seen these past days. The past days had been hard for her…even harder for me but I should be ashamed. We knew from the very beginning that this have to happen…it must…

   No matter what justification I have tried convincing heaven and earth this was all wrong. We have hurt so many people along the way. I remember so well the very first time we took our rendezvous…the sun was bright but her face was even brighter. Those dazzling eyes glimmers like gemstones and her radiant face elate even within a crowd.

   The nights and each day that follow after that have been defined as love…but borne from cruelties and deceptions…unfaithfulness.

   This night she embraces me…clawed her bare hands tightly than ever before as if she would fall if she let go. Those valiant yet tender kisses were throbbing; sweet kisses that suddenly brought fear in manner I can not differ. It was there all along imminent as our sweat mingled till we collapse as two separate soul satisfied by hunger…then I saw those hidden tears forming…not visible but I just knew it was there.   

   Oh, No I don’t want to hear these.

   Yet those words came like a distant echo drowned by my own heartbeat. The jargons of an alien reality…

   “This must end.” She said and instantly those tears can’t hold its place anymore. Her beautiful brown eyes fixed at mine. But now, those same beautiful eyes are now piercing…beating every part of my whole being.

   I don’t know why no words came out from my lips. All I could hear are my own breathing and even if I rebuke my heart to stay numb it aches. It aches so much I stopped struggling. I hated my silence…

   Perhaps, if only I had opened my mouth while those tears descend down my fingers; it would have held her back just like before. She will succumb again in my arms…like the many times we both tried to let go…

   “But it would be unfair!” She demanded from me as if she is even trying to convince herself. I beg the scenes to roll back…just for once.

   But time stood still. There were no flickering lights but just emptiness and blurry shadows.

   Quietly she sat beside me…feeling the oneness of each other heartbeat…pulsating images marred by reality.  She avoids my eyes as I tried to search them cupping her chin. 

   I felt a growing lump on my throat as the distance slowly widen…I watch her make uneasy steps; I thought I would not be able to say it… This could not be happening…I hate saying goodbye.
   “Goodbye.”
   She turns…hesitate a bit and gave me that sweet familiar smile.

My Busy Social Sites

Now having one more site to manage (realizationism.wordpress.com) will surely keep me work double...yet of course I'm not super-human to have it all done...but I will try. One site that had suffered a lot is my Tagged Profile and Tagged ArtLover Gallery. And this day I think I can drop by and make some amendments...only if I have a faster computer. 

   There is the result: you get zero love and only 4 messages. Exactly 780 friends that only a couple of month ago have reach 820 or so. Members are leaving the site. Now I go check our gallery profile. 
   Thanks my art partner Melissa is still taking good care of our gallery. Last active 3 days ago. Still with good amout of luvs at 90%. Now by giving my 3 available luv I can fill this up and in return have my luv scale marked. 

by Babis Kiliaris

   Just look what have I done, I made too many sites that I can't take care. This work from Babis Kiliaris grace our profile when I open it. Nice choice for my co-admin. 
   Other sites will have to hibernate at the moment. Like weebly and the one on wetpaint they are boring not giving me fluidity on blogging experience. I'm a busy person to waste my time with loading periods...am I being redundant here? 
   Still there is the need to read my friends blog too so I can keep contact and updates. The world wide web have indeed change my life dramatically and has became my principal venue to express my self. 

HEALING PROCESS

    If the person thinks the solution to his problem is outside himself, then the solution is near impossible. When a citizen determine his fate thru the actions of the government, he is more likely to be disappointed. If a wife relies so much to her husband for their marriage success, this too is destine to fall apart. Only thru acceptance of your responsibilities....can deter the blame against brokenheart, financial burden, dead-end situations etc.

     Likewise once the person acknowledge the pain, his body will begin the process of healing. If we don't pinpoint the problem area, our brain will not search for solutions. How can our body react if he does not feel the pain? When a broken heart tries to deny that a certain person have not really hurt him, we can not move on, falling in love again will never happen. let the wound heal first before we begin loving again.

     Of course healing takes time. Its a case to case basis. Some body have quick reacting enzymes  while others takes a lot of tears before it actually subside.

     most people tries to cure a broken hear by looking outside. This is like taking a pain reliever but does not actually take care of the illness. First, we should focus why we are hurt. Diagnose the reason why we are crying? Validate the fact and separate the imagined.

    The process must always begin where you have direct power. Relying on others to solve our rotten situations can sometimes lead to eternal daydreaming down to our grave.

    "But those who wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strenght."  -- Isaiah 40:31