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COOPERATION IN SIPADAN CASE, SAYS ENVOY KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- The number of government agencies from
Malaysia and the Philippines getting involved in the handling of the Sipadan kidnap crisis
does not pose a problem, Philippine ambassador Jose Brillantes said today.
He said in a telephone interview that it "does not really complicate matters".
Brillantes said the cooperation between the authorities of the two countries in the
handling of the case which enters the fifth day today had been close.
Six men armed with assault rifles and a bazooka, believed to be from the Philippines,
kidnapped 21 people -- 10 Malaysians and 11 tourists -- from Sipadan island off Sabah last
Sunday. The captives are now believed detained in one of the Sulu islands in southern
Philippines.
The various military services and police are among the agencies involved in the handling
of the crisis which is presently in "negotiation" mode, according to Philippine
officials.
According to reports, the Philippine government was trying to negotiate the release of the
hostages through emissaries assigned by Moro leader Nur Misuari.
It was reported that President Joseph Estrada gave Misuari, the governor of the Autonomous
Region of Muslim Mindanao in southern Philippines, the mandate to negotiate with the
kidnappers.
Meanwhile, the National Security Council said today the condition of the captives who had
been detained for the past five days was still not known.
A spokesman said the council had yet to receive any update on the reported imminent
release of Malaysian detainees by the armed group at a Sabah coastal town.
"We have contacted Sabah but still no news of their release so far," he said.
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