“I do not view this as an act of terrorism as such because as we know, that area is notorious for piracy, for banditry, and for criminal elements who are out to do mischief there,” Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Taufik Mohamed Noor told reporters after meeting with President Arroyo in Malacañang.

Taufik said authorities are still trying to confirm whether the Abu Sayyaf group was behind Sunday’s kidnapping, which occurred a day after several of its members escaped a jail in Basilan.

He said the kidnapping could have been done by “armed criminals plying the area.”

Noor admitted though the reports he has received about the abduction were sketchy.

Still, the Malaysian envoy to Manila said the government would not pay ransom for the freedom of the Malaysian captives but would not stop  the families of the victims from doing so.

Taufik assured the abduction will not affect Philippine-Malaysian relations. “These are cross border crimes, transnational crimes happen everywhere.”

He said the Malaysian government would cooperate with local authorities in tracking down the kidnappers and rescuing the hostages.

Malaysia is one of the signatories of the anti-terror agreement along with the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Boat-riding gunmen boarded the barge Ocean 2 off Sabah’s Linkian island late Sunday and seized its three crewmen, two Malaysians and an Indonesia.