KOTA KINABALU – Former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee wants former attorney-general Tommy Thomas to retract a statement in his book claiming that North Borneo was part of the Sulu Sultanate.
As a matter of historical fact, North Borneo, now Sabah, was never part of Sulu, but was instead under the Brunei Sultanate before the coming of the European colonialists in the 17th century, said Yong.
According to Yong, Thomas had, in the latter’s book, Justice in the Wilderness, stated on page 377: “At some point in its history, North Borneo was part of the Sulu Sultanate.”
This claim, said Yong, is historically erroneous.
“The entire federal Attorney-General’s Chambers should be given a proper lesson on Sabah’s history.
“As a matter of fact, they should read another book written by former AG, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, ‘Putting to rest the claim to Sabah by the self-proclaimed Sultanate of Sulu’, that was published in 2013, which is a more accurate record of the legal and political history of Sabah.
“Tommy’s book has done damage to Sabah and Malaysia by being used to support the case of Sulu claimants in a foreign country.
“Tommy stated on page 378 of his book that ‘there are no legal grounds for Malaysia’s refusal to pay annually since 2013. It resulted in Malaysia being in breach of the 1878 Agreement.’
“This is a damaging statement, which is now being used by foreigners to make claims against Malaysia,” he said in a statement here.
The 1878 agreement refers to the Deed of Cession between Baron De Overbeck and the Sultan of Sulu.
Yong opined that Thomas should have included in his book the legal basis of the 2013 decision of the federal government to stop making payments to the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate.
The Sabah Progressive Party president also noted that Sulu tried to lay hands on North Borneo for three centuries, and there is no record or event that Brunei had ever ceded or given any part of Borneo to Sulu.
“In fact, records show that Brunei repelled the Sulu intrusions in Borneo, such as in Kinabatangan.
“As for the Sulu version that Brunei had agreed to give North Borneo to Sulu in return for military aid in the Brunei Civil War, the Brunei version of the story showed that the Sulu army never took part in the war,” he said. – The Vibes, March 3, 2022
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