Defending our honour and sovereignty

IT was a defining moment whose time had come. When our men went out in full force to reclaim the ground that foreign intruders had occupied since Feb 9, it was, as the Prime Minister rightly puts it, “in defence of the country's honour and sovereignty.”

We had been extremely patient in dealing with the hundred-plus followers of the Sulu Sultan encamped at Kampung Tanduo, outside Felda Sahabat 17, about 160km from Lahad Datu. It was our wish to negotiate a peaceful settlement that would have prevented any bloodshed.