KOTA KINABALU: The group involved in the Sabah flag burning incident was acting on their own and not influenced by any internal or external element.
Lahad Datu district police chief Mohd Suhaimi Abd Rahman said police investigations indicated that the so-called leader of the group had also been trying to declare himself the sole and legitimate heir to the Sulu Sultanate.
It is learned that the 41-year-old leader of the group had contested as an independent candidate in a Lahad Datu constituency in the 2004 general election but lost his bid and also his deposit.
The man is known to many local residents who said that he claimed to belong to the lineage of the Sulu family that ruled North Borneo (now Sabah) independently of the Jolo-based Sulu Kingdom.
In the April 4 incident, the group - aged between 14 and 44 years - burned six state flags in Lahad Datu town.
They were also seen carrying a yellow flag with the insignia of a lion.
Suhaimi said 11 of the 12 suspects involved had been released on police bail on Friday pending a decision by the deputy public prosecutors’ office on whether to charge them.
He said 11 suspects were locals while another man was an illegal immigrant, who will be charged on Monday under immigration laws.
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman had said the question of Sabah claim by the Sulu families was no longer an issue as the state was now part of Malaysia.
He had asked police to conduct a full investigations into the flag burning incident and take appropriate action against those involved.
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