File photo of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. BERNAR TESTA/InterAksyon.com
Jamalul Kiram III on Monday accused the Aquino administration of planning to surrender him and his followers to Malaysia following the three-week standoff in Lahad Datu between the Sulu sultan’s followers and Sabah authorities in February.
“Ano ba kami, para bang anak ng pusa na ibibigay lang [Are we just like kittens that can just be give away]?” Kiram said during a press conference held at his residence in Maharlika Village, Taguig City.
Sulu Sultanate spokesperson Abraham Idjirani said that three days ago, a source from “within the Aquino government” told their camp that the administration “is cooking up a plan to surrender” Kiram, the sultan’s daughter Jacel, and himself” to Malaysian authorities.
Kiram said President Bengno Aquino III should not forget that he is “a Filipino who came ahead of you.”
“That is the truth. Wala pa kayo, Filipino na kaming mga Muslim sa Mindanao. Wala pang Pilipinas, mayroon ng sultanate of Sulu [You weren’t here yet, but we, Muslims in Mindanao, were already Filipinos. There was not yet a Philippines when the sultanate of Sulu began to exist],” Kiram said.
The sultan appealed to the President to “please help your own.”
“Do not abandon us. Don't turn us over to Malaysia," Kiram added.
‘It’s just a claim’
Malacanang, however, denied that the Philippine government was planning to extradite Kirams and his supporters to Malaysia.
"Claim lang 'yon (That was just a claim)," said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said at a press briefing on Monday.
A National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) report has concluded that there was conspiracy among members of the Kiram family and its supporters to reclaim Sabah.
The NBI has recommended the filing of illegal possession of firearms and violation of election gun ban and Article 118 of the Revised Penal Code or inciting to war against the Kirams and their supporters.
"Let’s wait for (an) official statement from us. I don’t want to dignify any statement coming from the Kirams," said Lacierda.
Kiram, who ran but lost in the 2007 senatorial elections, is the acknowledged leader of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. The sultanate based in Southern Philippines once controlled North Borneo, which is now known as Sabah.
The sultanate acquired Sabah as a prize for helping the Sultan of Brunei against his enemies.
According to the sultante, it did not relinquish its sovereignty over Sabah and only leased the territory to the Briitish North Borneo Company starting in 1878.
Pajak, the keyword in the 1878 pact
The keyword in the 1878 agreement between the Kiram family and Gustavo von de Overbeck of the Briitish North Borneo Company was pajak. The Kirams maintain that pajak means lease. But Malaysian authorities define pajak as sale.
The lease continued until the independence and formation of the Malaysian federation in 1963, which included Sabah.
Because of Sabah's inclusion, the Philippine government during the presidency of Diosdado Macapagal, broke diplomatic relations with Malaysia.
It was during Macapagal's term when then reigning Sultan of Sulu, Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I, ceded to the Philippine government the full sovereignty, title, and dominion of Sabah to the Republic of the Philippines. This gave the Philippine government the full authority to pursue its claim to Sabah in international courts.
But starting in 1989, succeeding administrations put the Sabah claim on the back burner and instead decided to pursue economic and security relations with Malaysia.
P70,000 for 7 million hectares
Up to now, the heirs of the sultanate receive rental money for Sabah from the Malaysian government.
Sabah’s total land area is 7.36 million hectares or almost one-fourth of the Philippines, which is 30 million hectares.
Annually, the Malaysian government pays the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu, 5,300 Malaysian ringgit currently equivalent to P70,000. If pajak is defined as rent, it means that Malaysia’s annual rent of Sabah is only .009 centavos per hectare.
According to Kiram, the rent they receive only proves that the sultante owns Sabah.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/63753/kiram-claims-pnoy-govt-wants-to-surrender-him-supporters-to-malaysia
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.