KOTA KINABALU – Malaysia can rest at ease over Sabah’s status as a state under the federation as Manila has viewed the “private” claims made by heirs of the former Sulu sultanate as “unimportant” at this juncture.
The observers said the Filipino government is seen distancing itself from the controversial legal case brought by the heirs as it was said to be commercial in nature and based on an arbitration award.
The Sulu heirs, they noted, are also attempting to make their case as a sovereign claim.
Their views came after the Filipino president’s press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles had distanced the Malacanang Palace from the Sulu claims, saying it was a private and commercial affair.
“Therefore, it is not an issue of sovereignty or of territory at the moment,” Cruz-Angeles had been reported as saying.
Sabah-based political analyst, Lee Kuok Tiung, said the Sulu claim was often raised during political discourse in the Philippines to shift attention away from more pressing domestic issues.
The issue of this claim becomes hot during the election periods in the Philippines. Any candidate would use this to gain votes, and therefore it was often brought up.
“The Filipinos assume that by claiming Sabah, they would be able to resolve their social and economic problems given that Sabah is rich in natural resources,” he told The Vibes.
In March, a French arbitration court ordered the Malaysian government to pay the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu compensation to the tune of a whopping RM60 billion.
The decision was made based on the 1878 treaty the Sulu Sultanate signed with two traders, Alfred Dent and Baron De Overbeck.
The agreement was not formally renounced but under the deal, the then Sultan of Sulu ceded the sovereignty over a large part of Eastern Sabah to the two traders, with a cession payment of 5,000 Mexican dollars a year to him and his future heirs.
The territories were later absorbed into the British Crown Colony of North Borneo and then became part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
The treaty formed the basis of the Philippines’ claim in the past but become dormant until the French Arbitration court ruling.
Members of the Sulu Sultanate, a now-defunct kingdom were hopeful that newly-minted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s assertion of defending Philippines territory from China last month would reinforce their claim to Sabah.
Marcos, in a national address on July 25, declared that he would not concede an inch of the Philippines’ territory to any foreign power.
However, Marcos’ remarks were in relation to China’s rejection of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which invalidated China’s claims on the South China Sea.
Filipino journalist Raissa Robbles told The Vibes that Marcos has “too many problems right now”.
Other than the heirs of the sultanate, Marcos is not being pressured by any groups to respond to the claims as the court ruling does not involve the question of sovereignty.
Sabah history researcher Shari Jeffri said the Sulu claim involved propriety rights, and the heirs had been trying to raise the payments for many years, given that the 1878 treaty does not have an exit clause.
But the long-standing claim has come to a flashpoint following the French Arbitration Court decision, he said, where success in the legal battle with Malaysia could see the Sulu heirs retaliating against Manila.
“There’s a long-standing difference between the Sulu and Manila. In this case, if Manila suddenly recognises the sovereignty of the Sulu case, Malaysia may need to bring the case to the International Court of Justice.
“If you read on the arbitration rule, it is clear cut it is an international private lease agreement and of commercial nature.
And if the outcome is not favourable to Malaysia, this means the heirs could separate from the Philippines and form their own nation.
“Therefore, the Philippines is treading on this matter carefully. So, if they win the huge sum of money and turn this into a matter of sovereignty, they will go all out to secede from the Philippines,” he said. – The Vibes, August 5, 2022
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