[UPDATED] M’sia to take Sulu heirs to court over attempt to ‘seize’ embassy in France

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will summon the purported heirs of the Sulu sultanate to court over their attempts to “seize” the Malaysian embassy building in France, the government’s special secretariat on the Sulu claims issue said today.

It clarified recent media reports that there had been attempts to seize the embassy on Monday (March 6), stating there was no actual attempt to seize the properties, but rather to “obtain a description of the respective premises”.

The secretariat said on that day, people identifying themselves as court bailiffs had approached the embassy and staff residence requesting access to survey the premises.

“(The) reason (was) to obtain a description of the properties. The diplomatic staff at the respective premises told the bailiffs this is not possible and turned them away. The bailiffs left shortly after. This was not an attempt to seize the properties

“Preliminary legal advice rendered to Malaysia suggests that the bailiffs were instructed by the Sulu claimants to obtain a description of the respective premises, on the basis of the statutory mortgage registered on the premises,” the secretariat said in a statement.

It added that this action was based on an authorisation order granted on an ex parte basis from the Paris Court of First Instance, which in turn was acting on the awards which are being challenged by Malaysia in France as well as other jurisdictions.

“Moving forward, it is Malaysia’s intention to summon the Sulu claimants to appear before the court which granted the authorisation order to obtain the cancellation of the registration of the mortgage. The statutory mortgage is not an enforcement measure per se.

“Malaysia maintains that it does not recognize the purported commercial arbitration instituted by the Sulu claimants and will continue to vigorously defend its sovereignty through the appropriate legal forums,” the secretariat said.

Yesterday, Reuters reported that French bailiffs had attempted to enforce a “seizure order” on properties owned by the Malaysian government in France in relation to US$14.92 billion (RM63.36 billion) awarded to the Sulu heirs through arbitration overseas.

The heirs have sued Malaysia for ceasing the annual payment of RM5,300 in fees for Sabah, which they claim as their territory. The payments were stopped in 2013 after the Lahad Datu invasion.

Malaysia does not recognise the arbitration filing or its process.

The claimants’ actions in France were based on a court-issued seizure order late last year, and is the latest in the Sulu heirs’ attempts to target Malaysian assets abroad as part of claiming compensation.

In January, the district court of Luxembourg set aside an attachment order requested by the heirs on two Petronas subsidiaries. – The Vibes, March 8, 2023