MANILA, March 8 — The leaders of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are keen to learn from Malaysia how they can develop the southern region of the Philippines, Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said here today.
He said the leaders of the autonomous region, created through the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), also want to learn from Malaysia how they can create job opportunities and attract foreign investors to the region. The BOL provides for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
“They (BARMM) have many combatants who, at one time, knew only how to fight but now these combatants have to switch to developing the Mindanao area,” he told Malaysian journalists after concluding his three-day visit to the Philippines.
Earlier, Dr Mahathir held meetings with the interim BARMM chief minister Murad Ebrahim and Mindanao Development Authority chairman Datu Abdul Khayr Alonto.
Dr Mahathir admitted that it is not easy to rebuild the Mindanao region, including Marawi, because of the physical damage it had suffered as well as the severe psychological effects of armed conflict over decades, but said it can be done through the willingness of all parties to embark on a new life.
“Indeed, the situation in Mindanao is quite bad, quite bad for rebuilding. In addition, the area has seen decades of conflict. Certainly, their perception of governance, laws, self-control and discipline is not the same as people in countries which have never seen war.
“This has to be addressed by the newly-established autonomous government. This government has no experience in common governance. They have hitherto focused their activities on war to liberate their territory.
“Now, they have accepted that autonomy is something that they are happy with and they realise that even in autonomy, the federal government has jurisdiction over their area,” he said.
On the role of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) in the development of the southern Philippines, Dr Mahathir said it should be revived because the previous government in Malaysia did not give much focus to BIMP-EAGA.
“Now that we have an understanding of regional development, we have to find out the ways through which we can realise BIMP-EAGA,” he said. — Bernama
