KUALA LUMPUR – The case brought about by the Sulu heirs is seen as an individual claim and does not pose a threat to the sovereignty of Malaysia or Sabah, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Santubong-GPS).
“I want to stress that this claim has nothing to do with the sovereignty of the country,” he said when answering a supplementary question by Chan Foong Hin (Kota Kinabalu-PH).
Chan had asked about the government’s action after Filipino senators Francis Tolentino and Robinhood Padilla asked the Philippines government to renew its claims on Sabah.
Wan Junaidi said Wisma Putra would only take action if the Philippines government itself was the one making such claims.
“This matter was raised by certain senators and politicians in the Philippines; we see this as ‘inaccurate voices’ voiced by their politicians. When there are no other political issues (in the Philippines) this issue is raised.
“Wisma Putra is aware of this matter. Wisma Putra will only take action if the Philippines government reacts to this matter.”
Meanwhile, Datuk Darell Leiking (Penampang-Warisan) questioned if news reports quoting Wan Junaidi saying that Petronas is not owned by the Malaysian government were true.
Wan Junaidi told Leiking not to be confused with the role of Petronas, adding that the national oil and gas firm was registered by the government as a company under the Petroleum Development Act 1974, so it is a separate entity from the government.
“This law provides authority for the company to develop petroleum and gas in the country, so don’t get confused. When a body is formed as a company, it is separated from whoever formed the company (the government). It cannot be that the father has debts, and his son is claimed.
“That is why we say that it is Petronas’ rights; Petronas is administered by its own board, and has its own company regulation.
“The self-proclaimed Sulu sultanate’s heirs are claiming from Petronas when they should be claiming from the Malaysian government.”
Earlier, when answering Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun (Beaufort-Perikatan) on whether the government is taking proactive action to tackle the issue, Wan Junaidi said other than forming a special task force to handle it, the government will also tackle the problem of inaccurate reporting by international media agencies on the matter.
“These inaccurate news reports would affect our court proceedings in Spain, France, and Luxembourg, so we have to tackle this.”
He said a committee has been formed under the task force to handle the communication problems, and it is currently identifying international media agencies to help spread the accurate and actual narrative for Malaysia.
He also reiterated that legal matters about the issue cannot be revealed to the public so that the government’s strategies will not be known by the opponents in court. – The Vibes, October 6, 2022
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