Najib to witness signing of historic Manila-MILF peace deal

MANILA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will arrive here today to witness the signing of an historic final peace deal for southern Philippines.

The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro will be signed by the Philippines government and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Facilitator to the peace process Tengku Datuk Abdul Ghaffar Tengku Mohd said the event will be a milestone in Malaysia’s bid to help end one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies that has killed more than 100,000 people.

“Our Prime Minister has decided to attend the signing ceremony despite the gloom and sadness in Malaysia over Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 because this event acknowledges Malaysia’s success in helping to resolve conflicts in the region,” said Tengku Ghaffar.

As the facilitator to the peace process, Malaysia has hosted 43 rounds of talks in Kuala Lumpur since 2001.

Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Datuk Mohd Zamri Mohd Kassim said Najib, accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is scheduled to arrive at 1pm at the Villamor Air Base.

Key officials in the Malaysian delegation will include Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Armed Forces Chief Jeneral Tan Sri Zulkefli Mat Zin.

Zamri said Najib will call on Philippine president Benigno Aquino before the two leaders witness the signing at 5pm at the Malacanang Palace grounds to be attended by more than 1,000 guests.

Najib and Rosmah will attend a dinner hosted by Aquino before departing for home in the evening.

“The Philippines is very much appreciative of Malaysia’s role as facilitator, which is why Aquino had extended an invitation to our Prime Minister,” said Zamri.

The signing of the agreement will mark the end of peace negotiations and the start of the implementation phase.

The next step will be to complete the drafting of a Basic Law or Constitution for the planned fully-autonomous region of Bangsamoro.

Once ratified by the Philippine Congress as well as a referendum, a Transitional Authority led by the MILF will take charge of the region until a Bangsamoro government is duly elected in 2016.

While there were no signs of tightened security in Manila, the Philippine military has been placed on alert in central Mindanao ahead of the signing.

Philippine Armed Forces spokesman Lt Col Ramon Zagala was qouted by The Philippine Star newspaper as saying there has not been any evidence of “concrete threats” to disrupt the signing.

Several smaller armed groups in the south remain opposed to the agreement, including fighters aligned to former Moro strongman Nur Misuari who has alleged that the peace deal will leave the people shortchanged.