(Nov 30): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said it was disrespectful for a Malaysian to have acted “so friendly” towards an individual linked to the Sulu terrorists who intruded into Lahad Datu in 2013.

The prime minister tweeted that the Sulu terrorists had killed many security personnel during their failed attempt to take over Sabah.

“Many security officers lost their lives in the cruellest manner during the Lahad Datu intrusion by the Sulu terrorists,” he tweeted in Malay.

“The actions of one of our people, who was so friendly to a person linked to the Sulu terrorists, is completely disrespectful towards Malaysians, especially Sabahans,” he said in a following tweet.

Although Najib mentioned no names, his tweets came a day after Sabah PKR leaders said party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar’s photograph with Jacel Kiram, daughter of the self-styled sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiran III, was not an issue.

PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also said yesterday the photograph was a “small issue” which Barisan Nasional (BN) has blown out of proportion.

Earlier yesterday, Najib said Malaysians, especially Sabah folk, were offended by the action of certain Malaysians who befriended those linked to the deaths of the security personnel.

Nurul Izzah, the Lembah Pantai MP, has been accused of treason by some quarters for appearing in the photograph with Jacel, as the latter’s father led the 2013 incursion into Sabah’s eastern coast.

Jacel also spoke on behalf of her father in press conferences during the skirmish, and said the incursion was justified as the sultanate owned the land.

The resulting skirmish between the Sulu invaders and Malaysian forces saw scores of soldiers killed.

The Sabah legislative assembly barred Nurul Izah from? entering the state after the photo of her and Jacel went viral on social media.

The PKR vice-president has also been summoned to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee.

The photo was taken during an event in the Philippines organised by the mayor of Manila and the vice-president’s office.

Nurul Izzah and Jacel were among the guests.

Nurul Izzah has since said she did not seek the meeting and apologised for hurting the feelings of Sabahans. – The Malaysian Insider