No proof Murad, Iqbal carry Malaysian passports

KIDAPAWAN CITY -Whoever it was who brought out the issue of the alleged Malaysian citizenship of at least two of the top officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Chairman Murad Ebrahim Al Haj and chief negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal, could be a victim of what is referred to in Philippine journalism as kuryente, or simply taken for a ride.Following the publication of the report on the alleged Malaysian citizenship of Murad and Iqbal, an issue which was swallowed hook, line and sinker by some politicians who immediately asked for a Congressional investigation, I made my own inquiry and asked people who know these persons very well. That's an old story which has been going around for many years now, former MILF spokesperson Mustapha Eid Kabalu told me last night. But nobody has really seen them carrying Malaysian passports, he said.Allegations that Murad and Iqbal carry Malaysian passports first circulated in the social media emanating from a Facebook page which claims to be the official page of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).The report was picked up by Davao City Congressman Karlo Nograles who called for an investigation into the allegations.Even before the report could be verified, calls to charge Murad and Iqbal with treason were already made.GMA Network News through its Cotabato City based reporter Ferdinand Cabrera, however, recently posted in its website images the passport of Iqbal which indicated that he is a Filipino citizen. Another image showed the entries in the page marked with stamps of the Japanese immigration authorities in Narita Airport Japan.Iqbal obviously used the passport in his trip to Japan a few years ago when President Aquino and Murad met for the first time to restart the peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government.Kabalu, however, added that Murad's two sons, Yasser and Mansour, studied in Malaysia. One of them married the daughter of a friend of mine, former councilor Jabib Guiabar of Kabacan, North Cotabato.The former MILF spokesman who is now estranged from the rebel organization and has formed a Muslim peace advocacy group called the Bangsamoro Transformation Council.While Kabalu defended Murad and Iqbal from allegations that they are Malaysian citizens, he said that there could be serious problems involving the use of aliases by the MILF officials, assumed names which they used in signing official peace agreement forged with the Philippine government. The real name of Chairman Murad Ebrahim, Al Haj is Ahud Ebrahim, Mohagher Iqbal is really Datukan Abbas while Ghadzali Jaafar is Salik Abu, Kabalu said.Kabalu's revelation on the real names of the top three MILF leaders was just actually a confirmation of what many Cotabato City residents knew a long time ago but which the Philippine government peace negotiators obviously did not bother to check.Kabalu said Datukan Abbas, also known as Mohagher Iqbal, earned his college and masteral degrees from a top Manila university and is the acknowledged intellectual in the MILF while Salik Abu, also known as Ghadzali Jaafar, is a former radio announcer in Cotabato City. I don't know what are the implications when you use an assumed name in signing important documents like the Peace Agreement but I guess this is something worth looking into by legal experts, Kabalu said.In the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Philippine Government and the MILF, the name Mohagher Iqbal signed on behalf of the MILF while the Philippine government was represented by peace panel head Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.