It really should have been a happy occasion. Despite their safe return on June 8 of, not one, but all four Malaysians taken hostage by Abu Sayyaf in April off the coast of Pulau Ligitan, Sabah, this release was bound to rise questions.

The recent beheading of Canadians Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, and Malaysian Bernard Then last year are proof that threats of harm are not merely words or empty bluster uttered by these militants. Once captured, release either came through rescue by security or military forces, which are rare, or through payment of ransom by desperate family and friends.

Thien Nyuk Fun, who was kidnapped along with Then, was lucky that efforts to pay her ransom were successful. She was released. Then, unfortunately lost his life.

The conflicting statements over the past two weeks by the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the inspector-general of police (IGP), Khalid Abu Bakar, must therefore be viewed within that context and historical precedence.

It was probably foolish for the both of them to play word games regarding whether or not a ransom was paid to the militants. Rather than fibbing about it, telling partial or half-truths and playing with semantics and double talk, it would probably have been best if they had just refused comment on the matter under the pretext of national security. After all, it isn’t exactly an unfamiliar position.

I understand and accept that it is important that a state must maintain a public position and stand which firmly declares that it would not pay ransom or negotiate with terrorists.

It is a known fact that Abu Sayyaf’s modus operandi has been to kidnap individuals for ransom as a way of raising funds to support its ongoing insurgency against the Philippines government.

“We will not negotiate with terrorists” is one of the central tenets of state policy regarding such matters. To do otherwise would send the wrong signal to those such as Abu Sayyaf. It would mean open season on Malaysians and on those in and of this country, if the government did not take a hard line.

But because the deficit of public trust in our authorities is so deep and a huge sum of ransom was involved, even after the release of the four, the question of “what happened to the money?” was inevitable.

This was after all, public funds raised from contributions from individuals in several countries in the region. A couple of million from the hostages’ employer, and a million from the mortgage of two family homes.

Despite the IGP’s denials, the DPM confirmed that the money had indeed passed through the Royal Malaysian Police or PDRM (last I checked, Special Branch is still part of the Royal Malaysian Police). It was apparently “donated” to a Filipino organisation which “assists in an Islamic struggle” and has “no apparent links to terrorists or criminals”.

The answer to where the money eventually ended up lies in the news that the southern Philippine militants are now angered after discovering that they were apparently short-changed during the transaction (which has not been acknowledged as having happened). For them to have learnt that RM12 million (130 million pesos) and not RM10 million (100 million pesos) had actually been raised to secure the release of the hostages, is bad for everyone.

Where the missing RM 2 million went is anyone’s guess but the reality is that such negotiations often involve various individuals getting their cut. The next time these militants demand ransom, you can bet they are going to learn from this experience and count the money before releasing hostages.

Partisan politics

It is also unfortunate that certain parties have been playing partisan politics over this issue. When something like this happens what we need to do is rally around and leave such divisiveness at the door.

We should have done more to support the families involved. The fact that they were forced to appeal for donations and assistance during the recent Sarawak state elections is an indignity which should not have happened but I understand their desperation.

This episode raises once again the question of how porous our border continues to be with the Philippines, the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) notwithstanding.

When armed insurgents and militants are able to swoop in on zodiac boats into Malaysian waters seemingly with impunity, take hostages, extort for ransom, and behead them, perhaps it is time that we drop the ego and the patronising and paternalistic attitudes, and focus on preventing this from happening again.

By the way, where was Geppetto while all of this was going on?

AZRUL MOHD KHALIB is a social activist who works on HIV/AIDS, sexual reproductive health and human rights issues.