MALAYSIA STOOD firm again over its claim on the mineral-rich Sabah or North Borneo, just several hours by boat from the Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi.
The Sultanate of Sulu, founded in 1457, continues to lay claim to Sabah which it obtained from Brunei as a gift for helping put down a rebellion on Borneo Island. The British leased Sabah and transferred control over the territory to Malaysia after the end of World War II.
The Sulu Sultanate said it had merely leased North Borneo in 1878 to the British North Borneo Company for an annual payment of 5,000 Malayan dollars then, which was increased to 5,300 Malayan dollars in 1903.
The Sultanate of Sulu is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north.
But North Borneo was annexed by Malaysia in 1963 following a referendum organised by the Cobbold Commission in 1962, the people of Sabah voted overwhelmingly to join Malaysia.
Sabah, part of Federation
The Sulu Sultanate said it had merely leased North Borneo in 1878 to the British North Borneo Company for an annual payment of 5,000 Malayan dollars then, which was increased to 5,300 Malayan dollars in 1903.
The Sultanate of Sulu is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north.
But North Borneo was annexed by Malaysia in 1963 following a referendum organised by the Cobbold Commission in 1962, the people of Sabah voted overwhelmingly to join Malaysia.
Sabah, part of Federation
On Wednesday, Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein again said his country will not recognise any foreign claim for Sabah, adding, it belongs to Malaysia and will always be part of the Federation.
“We will not recognise, what more, meet any foreign claim for Sabah. At the same time, I want to categorically state here that Sabah is, and will always be, part of Malaysia. I also rebuked Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr and what I said is clear, Malaysia condemns and rejects his Twitter post that claimed Sabah is not part of Malaysia,” Hussein said.
Locsin, in a Twitter post, said: “Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines.”
His tweet was in response to the U.S. Embassy in Manila's tweet on their donation of hygiene kits to the deported Filipinos from Sabah who arrived in Tawi-Tawi province and Zamboanga City recently.
The U.S. Embassy said: “USAID donated 500 hygiene kits to the @dswdserves Region IX for the 395 returning Filipino repatriates from Sabah, Malaysia who arrived in Zamboanga City and Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.”
Locsin said until now the U.S. Embassy has not taken down its tweet. “It started with a US Embassy tweet that hasn't been taken down. When the country united around (Philippine President Ferdinand) Marcos, including his critics, the US discouraged an attempt on our part to concretely assert our claim. The US didn't want us to add to their growing problem in Vietnam. History,” he said, referring to the Philippines’ claim of Sabah.
Marcos said the Philippines “acquired sovereignty and dominion over the territory of Sabah in accordance with a series of events, acts, agreements and transactions, including the Deed of Cession from the Sultan of Sulu of 1962 to the Philippines.”
“I also wish to say that the Philippines will pursue its right to Sabah by peaceful means in accordance with the provisions of its Constitution, our Constitution, which renounces war as an instrument of national policy, and that our country is also committed to the principles of the United Nations binding member states to the pacific settlement of international disputes,” Marcos said in September 22, 1968.
Hussein branded as “irresponsible” Locsin’s statement, saying it could jeopardize bilateral ties between Malaysia and the Philippines.
Sulu Sultans
In Sulu, Paramount Sultan Ibrahim Q. Bahjin-Shakirullah II, said North Borneo is an inextricable part and parcel of the Sultanate of Sulu.
In a statement released August 3 this year, he said the Sultanate of Sulu asserts its position on the following: 1.) The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo was never lawfully ceded to the Republic of the Philippines, and therefore remains a sovereign and independent state; 2.) The stipulation in the Deed of 1878 that the lessees of North Borneo shall administer the territory for “as long as they choose or desire to use them” places it in the category of a “perpetual lease”, effective for 100 years under international law. The contract of lease has therefore expired and possession over North Borneo should now be exercised by the Sultanate of Sulu, its rightful owner. And 3.) The heirs of Jamalul Kiram II do not have private ownership of Sabah. The territory continues to be owned by the Sultanate of Sulu, and not any private person.
He said in view of the history of the Sultanate and the circumstances surrounding the lease of Sabah, “we desire the recognition of the independent statehood and sovereignty of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.”
But Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, who claims to be the 35th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, said his grandfather, Sultan Mohammad Esmail Enang Kiram, who was recognized by the Philippine government in 1957, “transferred the rights of North Borneo under the government of President Diosdado Macapagal in 1962.”
He said - in a statement released by the Royal House of Sulu on August 4 this year – that his father, Sultan Mohammad Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram and him being the Crown Prince of Sulu, confirmed the transfer of the rights of North Borneo to the Philippine government and this was made official through Memorandum Order No. 427 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1974.
“We aspire for an amicable solution to the predicament that affects us all in this region,” Kiram said, adding, “The Royal House of Sulu firmly believes that diplomacy will allow us to move forward as governments and other parties involved play a crucial role from alleviating our people from poverty.”
The two are only among the 5 recognized sultans in Sulu. The others are Sultans Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin, Muizuddin Jainal Abirin Bahjin and Phugdalun Kiram II with Sulu Governor Dr. Sakur Tan, also called Datu Shabandar, as their Special Envoy. (Mindanao Examiner)
http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2020/08/malaysia-again-trashes-philippines.html
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