Malaysia to quiz Robot

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia may send a team to the Philippines to question alleged terrorist leader Galib Andang, popularly known as Commander Robot, about the kidnap of foreign tourists from a resort in April 2000, local media said Sunday.

"It is possible that we might either send a team to interrogate him (Andang) or get the information from the Philippines authorities," Defense Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

A special team of officers were preparing questions they wanted to ask Andang, said Ramli Yusoff, police commissioner for Sabah state on Borneo island.

Andang, the leader of the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping gang, is in hospital after being shot during his arrest last Sunday by security forces in his Jolo island stronghold in the southern Philippines.

His gang of self-proclaimed Islamic separatists raided the Sipadan resort in Malaysia in April 2000 and seized 21 tourists and staff. They were later released, reportedly in return for millions of dollars in ransom.

The Abu Sayyaf is a group of Islamic militants branded as terrorists by Washington and Manila and said to have links with the al-Qaeda network of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Any information obtained from Andang’s interrogation would be useful to Malaysia, Najib said.

"We will probably be seeking the assistance of the Philippine authorities to provide us with the findings," he said.

Najib said there were several groups operating in the southern Philippines and any information gathered would help to get the true picture of the involvement of the group in the incident.

"I think we need to know...there are diverse groups that are operating in the southern Philippines. So we need to know more about what’s happening," said Najib.