Kota Kinabalu: More than 60 people claiming to be from a group called Solidariti Anak Sabah gathered outside the Sabah state assembly gates to call on the legislative body to debate the claims by the Sulu sultanate’s heirs.
The group had wanted to submit a memorandum on the matter, but failed after no one from the state assembly office went to receive them.
The group had gathered at a roadblock near the Sabah state assembly around 10.50am, before police allowed them to assemble at a parking lot outside the building.
It is understood that the memorandum had called for Sabah state assembly speaker Kadzim M Yahya to allow the matter to be debated in the legislative assembly.
This comes after the state assembly rejected Warisan president Shafie Apdal’s motion yesterday for the matter to be debated.
Similarly, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun had shot down Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah’s motion for the issue to be debated in the house.
Spokesman for the Solidariti Anak Sabah group, Ismail Ayub, said they would be holding a bigger gathering to call for the Sulu claims to be debated in the state assembly and they hoped to petition Parliament to also debate the issue.
“The claims against Sabah involved the security of the state and has garnered international attention. The state assembly must debate the matter because it is relevant to Sabahans and the sovereignty of our state.
“The people also deserve to know the developments on this issue,” he said.
Legal action by the Sulu sultanate’s heirs had reportedly threatened Malaysia’s interests and assets overseas, especially those belonging to government-linked companies.
On July 12, the assets of two Petronas subsidiaries in Azerbaijan were reported to have been seized by court bailiffs acting on behalf of the sultanate’s heirs, who are claiming US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) from Malaysia.
The move was said to be part of legal efforts launched in 2017 by the heirs to receive compensation over land in Sabah which they claimed their ancestors had leased to a British trading company in 1878.
Earlier, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob assured that the federal government would protect the country’s assets over claims by the heirs.
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