PKR is urging that full control to run Ops Daulat be handed over at once to the police and the armed forces for them to make quick and accurate decisions without political interference.

NONE "This is to avoid a repeat of a mistake made early in the incursion where military action was taken only when the security forces had taken casualties and prolonged negotiations failed to bear any fruit," Rafizi ( left ) said.

He said this was evident from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement aired on TV3 last night, where he purportedly said that he only went on the warpath after eight police officers were killed.

Rafizi said that the military should have been the first choice in dealing with the intruders, not and as an afterthought prompted by taking casualties.

He also noted that at times Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi would provide updates regarding Ops Daulat at one press conference, only to have Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar and armed forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin to doing the same at a separate press conference later.

The PKR director of strategy stressed that there is a need for a clear chain of command to ensure a speedy resolution of the crisis, quoting former army general Md Hashim Hussein.

Too generous by far

NONE "If you have two sides - the civilian command as well as the military command -giving the daily updates, that would surely complicate the operation there," he said.

Separately, Rafizi slammed the negotiations between Malaysia and Philippines on the crisis as "the most generous negotiation ever" that put the nation's sovereignty in jeopardy.

He was responding to a report published yesterday by the Philippine online news portal Philippine Inquirer quoting their cabinet secretary Jose Rene Almendras as saying that Malaysian authorities had agreed to give exits passes to the Sulu gunmen without any repercussions, if they hide or bury their weapons.

Malaysian authorities had also reportedly offered to revive talks on the Philippine claims to Sabah. However, the offer that was open between Feb 19 and Feb 26 was not taken up.

If the reports are true, Rafizi said this sends the "wrong signal" that Malaysia is willing to negotiate with armed groups, and they may return safely in exchange for "burying their weapons all over the place".

Rafizi also said that it is for the people of Sabah, not Najib, to decide whether to put the state on the negotiating table.

"That right is the right of the people and his responsibility as prime minister is to defend our sovereignty in the most firm manner humanly possible, especially in a case involving a blatant intrusion without any provocation on our side," he said.

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