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By Julmunir I. Jannaral, Correspondent
Editor’s note: The previous part
reported about the claim to Sabah by the Sultanate of Sulu, and how
the reigning sultan there was suspicious about Malaysia’s
initiatives to host peace talks between the Philippine government
and Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But MILF leaders deny that Sabah
is not on the peace talks agenda.
Last of two parts
MAIMBUNG, Sulu: The 54-year-old Sultan Fuad
Kiram 1st said that as the crowned ruler, he would also extend his
hand of peace and unity with all nine declared heirs of Sultan
Jamalul Kiram II, the Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo from 1893 to
1936.
Kiram said the nine heirs must unite, if they
are to succeed in pursuing their Sabah claim. The nine were declared
by the High Court of North Borneo on December 19, 1939 as the
private heirs entitled to receive what the court termed as
“cession money.”
The heirs argue that it should be called
“rental money” instead.
The nine are Dayang-Dayang Hadji Piandao, Putli
Tarhata Kiram, Putlih Sakinur Kiram, Datu Esmail Kiram, Datu
Punjungan Kiram, Sitti Mariam Kiram, Sitti Rada Kiram, Sitti Putli
Jahara Kiram and Mora Napsa.
Sultan Fuad Kiram 1st, whom many of his Tausug
followers and supporters called as the most amiable reigning monarch
in the history of his sultanate, vowed to restore the grandeur of
one of the surviving sultanates of Mindanao. He said he plans to
build a modest astanah or royal palace right in the historical seat
of the sultanate Dar’ul Jambangan (which means “place of
garden”), in this coastal town of Maimbung, Sulu.
Claim to Sabah
Sultan Kiram argues that before Malaysia’s
current occupation of Northern Borneo, or Sabah, that country never
owned that disputed territory. Malaysia and the Philippines claim
the area, but Malaysia has controlled Northern Borneo since gaining
independence from Great Britain.
In the past, Malaysia refused to recognize the
Sulu sultan, who was then derided as a pirate.
On September 11, 1962, then President Diosdado
Macapagal accepted in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines the
cession or transfer of sovereignty over the territory of North
Borneo from Sultan Muhammad Esmail Kiram 1st, the reigning sultan of
Sulu at the time and also the father of Sultan Fuad Kiram 1st.
As a consequence of that transfer, the
legislature in Manila attempted to pass a bill that would have
included Sabah within Philippine territory.
But on September 5, 1968, then-Malaysian Prime
Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman warned then-Philippine President
Ferdinand Marcos regarding the Sabah bill. The premier said Malaysia
would have to “take action” if Marcos signs the bill into law.
Sultan Fuad Kiram 1st believes it is now time to
return Sabah to Sulu. He noted that Malaysia celebrated its 51st
independence or Merdeka on August 31, saying that he hopes the
sultan would once again rule Sabah, or at least have it returned to
the Philippines, to which the province of Sulu also belongs.
But political observers say that aspiration
remains, well, as a dream.
The Sabah issue could only be resolved by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, according to
legal experts. International law requires Malaysia to voluntarily
submit to the jurisdiction of the international court in order for
the World Court to acquire jurisdiction over the issue.
But Malaysia has not—and likely would
not—submit itself to the international Court of Justice over the
Sabah issue. After all, it already rules the territory.
With such claim against the Philippines, Sultan
Kiram argues that Malaysia cannot be a treated as an impartial
peacemaker in the MILF issue—at least a party that should be so
readily trusted.
Lessor-tenant issue
Sabah and Palawan were gifts given to the Sultan
of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in 1658. The gifts were for the help
given by the Sultan of Sulu in quelling a massive rebellion in
Borneo. The sultan then had sent Tausug warriors led by Panglima
Illiji, said to be the great grandfather of Nur Misuari, chairman of
the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Then on January 22, 1878, Sultan Jamalul Ahlam
Kiram—the great grandfather of Sultan Fuad Kiram 1st—leased
Sabah to Gustavus Baron de Overbeck of Hong Kong and to Alfred Dent,
Esquire, of London. They represented a British Company, which paid
an annual rent of P77,442.36 or $1,500 to the sultanate.
The lease agreement specifically prohibits the
transfer of Sabah to any nation, company or individual without
consent of the Sultanate of Sulu. But that was ignored when Sabah
was unilaterally transferred by Great Britain to Malaysia in 1963
after the formation of Federation of Malaysia.
Great Britain’s move violated the deed of
Sabah Lease of 1878, as the Sultanate of Sulu did not give its
consent to the transfer of Sabah, Sultan Fuad Kiram I explained.
Kiram is acknowledged by many of his Tausug
followers as the reigning sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, based on
the law of succession in the Royal House of Sulu and Sabah. And the
sultanate believes the rent paid to the heirs of Kiram’s great
grandfather by Malaysia is not commensurate to the vast economic
value of the 73,711 square kilometers area covered by Sabah.
Sabah contributes about $100 billion to the
gross domestic product (GDP) of Malaysia, Kiram said. GDP is the
total value of all goods and services produced in a country within a
year.
Just looking at fair commercial rental property
transactions, Kiram estimated that his sultanate should receive rent
payment that is at least 10 percent to 12 percent of Sabah’s GDP
output. That comes out to between $10 billion and $12 billion per
year, he said.
Instead, Kiram added, the Sulu Sultanate
receives only a paltry amount.
If Malaysia wants to make its stay in Sabah
legal, then the Kuala Lumpur government should pay a fair price for
rent, he said.
But if the rental payment is not acceptable,
Kiram proposed a “joint administration” of Sabah by the
Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo and Malaysia.
The sultan said that similar to the
administration or “Condominium of France and Great Britain in
Vanuatu” that existed before Vanuatu’s independence, all the
income in Sabah should be split 50-50.
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