New Malaysian contingent to IMT arriving soon

COTABATO CITY --- The head of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team bade goodbye Wednesday to the Western Mindanao Command following a year-long peacekeeping stint in conflict flashpoint areas in the country’s south. 

Maj. Gen. Dato Hadji Muhammad Anwar Bin Abdullah of the Malaysian Royal Armed Forces had also personally thanked WestMinCom’s commander, Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Jr., for supporting their peacekeeping efforts in southern provinces covered by the current peace overture of Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Anwar is head of the IMT’s outgoing Malaysian contingent.

The Malaysian contingent in the IMT changes command yearly every March since 2004, replaced with a new mission head and support personnel.

Malaysia helped facilitate the peace talks between Malacañang and the MILF that resulted in the replacement two years ago of the then 29-year Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with a more politically and administratively empowered Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, most known as the BARMM.

BARMM’s appointed chief minister, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, is the revolutionary figurehead of the MILF.

BARMM’s regional spokesperson, lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, also regional local government minister, said Thursday they are grateful to Malaysia for its continuing support to efforts of putting diplomatic closure to the nagging Moro secessionist strife in southern Mindanao.

“We are also thankful to the other nations involved in the operation of the IMT,” Sinarimbo said.

The IMT is composed of soldiers and policemen from Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, non-uniformed socio-economic strategists from Japan and an international human rights expert from the European Union.

Anwar said the Malaysian government will soon announce the names of the incoming IMT mission head and the members of the new group from their Armed Forces arriving to replace him and his subordinates.

“With the support of the WestMinCom under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Vinluan, my mission here was a success. I hope that you also give your full support to the next head of (IMT) mission who will be named anytime soon,” Anwar, of the Malaysian Army, told Vinluan during their meeting at the WestMinCom headquarters in Zamboanga City.

The multinational IMT is helping enforce all security agreements between the MILF and the Malacañang.

Malaysia was instrumental in the crafting by both sides of two peace compacts, the 2012 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and, subsequently the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro, that paved the way for the setting up of the MILF-led BARMM government.

IMT sources told this Catholic online news outfit Thursday they are likely to stay until April owing to the COVID-19 pandemic health protocols affecting their supposed departure in March this year.

The sources said the incoming members of the new Malaysian peacekeeping contingent, to operate in Southern Mindanao for one year, have all been given anti-coronavirus vaccine jabs.

Vinluan awarded with special citations the Malaysian IMT members during their visit to Zamboanga City last Wednesday.