File photo of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Bernard Testa/InterAksyon.com
Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III passed away Sunday morning at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) in Quezon City, the sultan's daughter Princess Jacel Kiram, told dzMM radio.
Kiram, who fought to reclaim Sabah from Malaysia, died at 4:42 a.m. He was 75.
He was supposed to undergo dialysis but his blood pressure dropped drastically prompting his family to rush the sultan to the PHC where he died due to multiple organ failure, according to Princess Jacel.
"Iniwanan n'ya tayo [He left us] with something to move on. We have to continue fighting for the Filipino people," his daughter said.
"Ang gusto n'ya tayo na lang ho ang magpatuloy for the Sabah case [What he wants is for us to pursue the Sabah case]," added Kiram's daughter.
Princess Jacel said that before he died, her father said that, "You have to be strong dahil meron pa tayong misyon sa buhay. Kailangang maibalik kung ano ang dapat na maibalik sa atin You have to be strong because we still have a mission in life. What needs to be returned should be returned to us] ."
She said Kiram also always told his family that, "Everything happens because the Almighty allowed it to happen."
Kiram's remains were brought to his residence at Maharlika Village in Taguig City. Princess Jacel said their family would like to bury the sultan in Maimbung, Sulu within 24 hours.
In February this year, Kiram sent about 400 of his followers to Tanduao village in Sabah's remote coastal town of Lahad Datu to reclaim the territory.
Kiram said he was prompted to send his people to Sabah after the Philippine government left them out of the framework agreement signed in October, which only catered to the interest of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
It was Malaysia, which took over Sabah in 1963, that brokered the peace talks between the Philippine government and the MILF.
While the MILF respects the Kiram family's claim to Sabah and won't stand in the way of that claim, it "will not revive the claim," according to Khaled Musa, deputy chairperson of the MILF's committee on information.
Kiram, who ran but lost in the 2007 senatorial elections, was 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.
"Why should we leave our own home? In fact, they are paying rent (to us)," Kiram earlier told reporters in Manila.
"Our followers will stay in Lahad Datu. Nobody will be sent to the Philippines. Sabah is our home," he added.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/73106/jamalul-kiram-iii-dies-daughter-says-sultan-wants-pinoys-to-continue-fight-for-sabah
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