KOTA KINABALU: Twenty-three years ago, a little known southern Philippines-based militant group called Abu Sayyaf made international headlines when it grabbed 21 international tourists and resort workers from the diving haven of Pulau Sipadan.
But today, according to regional intelligence sources, the threat of the Abu Sayyaf is fast becoming a footnote.
The group, led by Ghalib Andang @ Commander Robot and his lieutenant Mujib Susukan, grabbed 10 European and Middle Eastern tourists together with nine Malaysians and two Filipinos during the Easter Sunday kidnapping on April 23, 2000.
The kidnapping was the start of a security challenge with the Abu Sayyaf-linked kidnap groups making forays into Sabah’s east coast.
The main target was tourists heading to the popular islands, but they were also snatching sailors, fishing crews and fish farmers.
Over a dozen kidnappings took place in the past two decades and among the higher profile cases included the abduction of Taiwanese Chang An-wei, whose partner Li Min-hsu was killed during the raid at Pom Pom island resort (Nov 17, 2013).
Chang was probably one of the few victims who were released within 36 days as most hostages were only released between two and six months, depending on the negotiations with Abu Sayyaf masterminds working from their hideouts in the notorious Jolo Island in southern Philippines.
At least two hostages died of natural causes during their captivity. But, the beheading of Sarawakian tourist Bernard Then, 39, on Nov 17, 2015, marked the worst chapter of the notorious bandit group whose kidnap enterprise cashed in millions of ringgit.
Regional intelligence sources said the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group is now a pale shadow of its former self.
Major Abu Sayyaf leaders, who marshalled the kidnappings directly or through their kidnap operatives, have either been eliminated or captured by the Philippines security forces.
Many of their foot soldiers surrendered voluntarily under Manila’s amnesty.
The source said that Manila’s all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration between 2016 and 2022 was the final blow to the backbone of Abu Sayyaf.
Their numbers dwindled to less than 20 from 600 to 800 members.
The source said veteran Abu Sayyaf Commander Radullan Sahiron, who was never directly or indirectly involved in Sabah kidnappings, had only about eight or nine gunmen while another leader, Commander Mundi Sawadjan, was left with five or six foot soldiers.
“Both of them are trying to broker a surrender with the Philippines authorities,” the source said, explaining that key Abu Sayyaf sub-commanders were neutralised or captured by Philippines forces over the past few years.
“Over 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen have surrendered, including leaders like Indang Sususkan who was involved in at least six kidnappings.”
Indang, who surrendered under an amnesty by Manila in 2020, was killed during a melee with guards at a high security prison facility in the Philippines last year.
Another notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnapper, Apo Mike @ Majan Sahijan, was shot dead in a firefight with security forces in the Tawi Tawi islands close to Sabah in March 2021.
Apo Mike, who had worked in Sandakan as a lorry driver, was allegedly fleeing Jolo Island and was ferrying three Indonesian kidnap victims grabbed from Sabah in January 2020.
(The Indonesian victims, who were rescued by the Philippines security forces, were the last of the cross-border kidnapping incidents [January 2020] involving the Abu Sayyaf along Sabah’s sea borders with Tawi Tawi.)
The most notorious among them, Al Habsi Misaya, who with Indang were part of the group responsible for the beheading of Then, was killed in Jolo Island in 2017.
The six Mutakdir brothers – who were responsible for kidnappings in Sabah and selling their victims to Abu Sayyaf groups – were also neutralised (five killed and one arrested) between 2015 and 2016.
