SULU North Borneo Sabah Sultan to unite 9 heirs to Sabah Territory

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 Sabah  North Borneo Heir 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.

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—submit itself to the international Court of Justice over the Sabah issue. 

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 Sabah, 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.