KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has secured another victory against eight individuals claiming to be heirs of the defunct Sulu sultanate, as the Appeals Court at The Hague refused to acknowledge the final award issued by arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa.
In a statement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the ruling in favour of Malaysia effectively prevents the claimants from enforcing their claims in the Netherlands.
He expressed his confidence that the government is now one step closer to completely nullifying the “sham and abusive” final award, which amounted to approximately US$15 billion (RM69.9 billion).
Previously, Malaysia had also emerged victorious against the claimants in France, where the Paris Appeals Court upheld Malaysia’s challenge against the partial award issued by Stampa.
With these consecutive victories, Anwar said that any attempts by the claimants to enforce the final award in other jurisdictions would be effectively thwarted.
He emphasised the Malaysian government’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and interests.
“The Sulu case exemplifies a grave violation of Malaysia’s sovereign immunity – a matter of utmost significance for every citizen of Malaysia Madani.”
Anwar further pledged that the government would continue to fight against the “flagrant exploitation and abuse” of the international arbitration system, while taking necessary measures to recover the costs of public resources expended on the claims.
The prime minister expressed his gratitude to various individuals involved in this effort, including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun, and others.
The alleged heirs of the Sulu sultanate took legal action in a Spanish court to seek compensation for land in Sabah, which purportedly had been leased by their ancestors to a British trading company in 1878.
In 2019, they appointed Stampa as the arbitrator in the case, who subsequently ruled in favour of the claimants, issuing a final award of US$14.9 billion against Malaysia.
Malaysia exhausted all available legal remedies to annul the award rendered by Stampa, challenging it in courts in Spain, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
On March 14, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the stay order obtained by the Malaysian government on July 12, 2022, effectively suspending the enforcement of the award. – The Vibes, June 27, 2023
