KUALA LUMPUR – Sulu claimants who recently lost their final appeal for almost US$15 billion from Malaysia say they never had any intention of ruling over modern-day Sabah.
Instead, ambassador Matthew Pajares-Yngson of the Indigenous Royal House of Sulu said they only want Malaysia to recognise what they are owed.
“The people of Sulu remain one of the poorest people in Southeast Asia despite being historically as wealthy as the Sultanate of Brunei.
“What is more important for the Sultanate of Sulu is the validation of our right to the territory which has and always been a part of our kingdom,” Pajares-Yngson said to Scoop.
“It was never the intention of the Sultanate of Sulu to ‘rule’ over modern Sabahans but it is more important for us that Malaysia recognises what it owes the Sultanate in the years that it has governed and earned from Sabah,” Pajares-Yngson said.
He was asked to comment on the impact of the dismissal of the Sulu claimants’ case by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which Malaysia has hailed as a landmark victory.
Despite the Dutch court’s decision, Pajares-Yngson said the ruling only applies to the Netherlands.
“The decision in the Netherlands is only for that country and not all the nations that are party to the international arbitration convention,” he said, in reference to the 2022 decision by Spanish Arbitrator Dr Gonzalo Stampa to award the Sulus US$14.9 billion.
Malaysia challenged Stampa’s decision as a “sham arbitration” issued illegally as his appointment as an arbitrator had been annulled by the Spanish court. This led to the Sulus taking their case to courts in a few European countries, including the Netherlands.
The Sulus have relied on an 1878 agreement between their then ruler Sultan Jamalul Alam and representatives of the North Borneo British company to pay the sultanate RM5,300 per year in return for rights over Sabah.
Malaysia had continued the annual payments of RM5,300 on the interpretation that it was ‘cessation payment’, until 2013 when armed supporters of the Sulu sultanate invaded Lahad Datu, Sabah. The incursion resulted in a standoff that killed 72 people.
Philippines Supreme Court judgement
Pajares-Yngson was also asked about the impact of a recent Philippines Supreme Court ruling that the Sulu region was not part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The grounds of the decision are based on the fact that the Sulu region rejected a law establishing the autonomous region.
Pajares-Yngson said the Philippines Supreme Court was significant, in that it allows the Sulu sultanate “a degree of autonomy that will allow it to preserve its cultural heritage and historic role”.
“This ruling is viewed as a reaffirmation of our historical and cultural identity, allowing the sultanate to maintain its traditional governance and customs in the face of modern legal frameworks,” he said.
Despite this positive aspect, the ruling would impact regional politics, particularly in areas where the sultanate’s historical claims overlap with the jurisdiction of contemporary nation-states.
“Balancing traditional identities with modern legal and political realities can be challenging, and the decision will likely spark discussions about the role of historical entities in the modern state system,” Pajares-Yngson said.
According to media reports, the Philippines government has previously recognised the Sulu sultanate.
However, the last sultan recognised by the Philippines government was Mohammed Mahakuttah Kiram who reigned from 1974 to 1986.
Since then, although Muedzul Lail Kiram was named an heir to the throne by Mahakuttah, the Philippines government has not formally recognised a new sultan, prompting other parties to make claims to the Sulu throne. – September 18, 2024