{
  "id": 3758392,
  "title": "Philippines’s claim on Sabah a diversion tactic, says Kitingan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/philippiness-claim-on-sabah-a-diversion-tactic-says-kitingan-3758392",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T14:38:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/08/27/philippines-s-claim-on-sabah-a-diversion-tactic-says-kitingan"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan dismissed Philippine senator Robin Padilla's call to revive the country's claim on Sabah, branding it a desperate tactic to divert attention from internal issues. Kitingan claimed Padilla's suggestion was a regular political move, often appearing before elections in the Philippines. Padilla urged his president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to reassert the Philippines' claim on Sabah, arguing that its oil and gas resources could solve the country's energy crisis. However, Kitingan dismissed Padilla's remarks as \"utterly nonsensical, baseless, and devoid of any legal or historical merit.\" He emphasized that Sabah is not and never will be a solution to the Philippines' problems. Kitingan further accused Padilla of making irresponsible and dangerous statements that threaten regional peace and stability. He called on the Philippine government to distance itself from such reckless remarks and respect Malaysia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is not the first time the Philippines has made such claims. Last year, former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah rejected a similar claim, calling it \"baseless, flawed, and completely dead in the water.\"",
  "summary": "The Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president says such calls often surface ahead of elections and are attempts to divert attention from the country's problems.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Philippines’s claim on Sabah a diversion tactic, says Kitingan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/philippiness-claim-on-sabah-a-diversion-tactic-says-kitingan",
        "published": "2026-08-27T14:38:20.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}