The Philippines has revived its demand for the extradition of Manuel Karingal Amalilio - a relative of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman - who was freed from a Malaysian prison in October last year.

Manuel, also known as Mohammad Kamal Sa'aid, had fled to Sabah after reportedly cheating more than 15,000 people of RM895 million in a Ponzi scheme in the Philippines.

He came into public attention in January 2013, after Manila accused Musa of blocking Amalilio's extradition.

Instead, Amalilio was speedily charged with possessing an unauthorised Filipino passport while in a Sabah hospital, and was sentenced to 22 months in prison in the state.

The opposition claimed that the authorities had charged Amalilio in Malaysia to save him from more severe punishments, if he is extradited to face the law in the Philippines.

PKR - in a joint statement today by parliamentarians R Sivarasa, Tian Chua ( left ) and Darell Leiking - said Malaysia can no longer avoid Amalilio's extradition as he is now freed from the Malaysian prison.

"We urge Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to give the necessary instructions immediately so that all our local agencies cooperate fully with the Philippine government, and ensure that Amalilo is extradited quickly to the Philippines to face the criminal justice system there.

"We remind Prime Minister Najib that Amalilio remains on Interpol’s list of wanted criminals. We must not be seen to be harbouring wanted criminals.

"We must also not be seen to continue to frustrate the wishes of the Philippine people who want justice for the crimes of Amalilio," the MPs from PKR added.

'Philippines to send legal team'

The Philippines Star last month reported that the Philippines’ Department of Justice will be despatching a team to Malaysia to demand Amalilio's return, following the end of his sentence in Sabah.

Sabah police reportedly stopped the deportation of Amalilio on Jan 24, 2013 just 10 minutes before he was about to board a plane to Manila with agents from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation.

Subsequently, Philippine Interior Secretary Mar Roxas accused Musa of blocking the repatriation of the country's most wanted conman.

Then Sabah police chief Hamza Taib ( right ) later said it was he who ordered the last-minute stop to the extradition, claiming that it did not follow procedures under the Mutual Assistance in Crime Matters Act 2002.

Musa later admitted that Amalilio is a "distant relative", but denied that he had interfered in the repatriation.

Although Musa did not elaborate, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim told a Philippine daily that Amalilio's mother is Musa's first cousin.

"The mother is Zubaidah Omar, cousin of Musa. Aman (Musa's father) and Omar (Zubaidah's father) are brothers," he was quoted as saying by The Philippine Star .

Anwar also pointed out to the daily that Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman is the younger brother of Musa, and that the brothers are related to attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, who also hails from Sabah.

Amalilio has claimed himself to be a Malaysian citizen, but Philippine authorities insist that he is Filipino, as he has a Filipino passport and birth certificate.