Published on: Thursday, February 21, 2013 |
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk V K Liew, said such demands by the group claiming to be the Sulu Sultanate royal army do not arise at all.
He said legally the matter could be looked at from the historical facts.
"Based on historical fact, the Sulu Sultanate dynasty ceased to exist from the early 1930s when the Philippines became a republic," he said.
"In this respect, the question of demand does not arise at all as the dynasty was clearly disbanded quite a long time ago," he said when met after presenting the BR1M 2.0 for his Sandakan constituency at the Community Centre here Wednesday.
Liew said it was only apt that the Government refuse to entertain the group's request and, in fact, should be strongly rejected because in terms of law such demand has no standing.
Furthermore, there is no way to verify the real background of the people making the demand, he said.
"Let the Government resolve the matter peacefully without any unwanted incident," he said, adding that at the same time the people must have confidence in the country's security forces to do their best.
Meanwhile, Liew who is also Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President, said the handing out of the second BR1M by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was a clear indication that the country's economy is growing rapidly.
He said it was also another clear proof of the Government fulfilling its promise, a policy under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The BR1M 2.0, this time would benefit about 4.3 million households and 2.7 million single and young individuals in the country costing the government about RM3 billion.
He denied that the move was a stunt by the Government to gain support from the people. "It is also a manifestation of the BN government as a responsible government that is capable of managing the nation's finance properly," he said.
Liew presented the BR1M 2.0 payment voucher to 2,267 recipients from the Tanjung Papat State constituency and later in the afternoon to 5,493 recipients from the Elopura State constituency.
The total number of recipients in the Sandakan Parliamentary constituency was 7,760.
