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MALAYSIA’S recent legal triumph over the Sulu group’s multibillion-dollar claim has been hailed as a defining legacy of the MADANI Government, said Datuk Ewon Benedick, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.
Speaking after a legal awareness session at the Sabah MADANI Rakyat Programme 2025, Ewon expressed pride in the Federal Government’s handling of the case, praising Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership in ensuring Malaysia’s position was upheld in international courts.
“On behalf of the Sabah leadership and the people of Sabah, we extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the Federal Government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, for establishing a special task force led by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, to address the Sulu claim brought by certain parties in several foreign courts,” Bernama cited him saying.
“We have achieved victory, and this proves that the Sulu claim is unfounded. This is a significant success achieved by the MADANI Government... I am sure the people of Sabah will appreciate it.”
The Pocket Talk session, titled Malaysia’s Victory in the Sulu Claim, featured a presentation by Irianie Abdul Wahab, Director of the International Relations Section of the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU, JPM). It outlined the trajectory of the legal battle which culminated in Malaysia’s favour.
The long-running dispute involved eight Filipino nationals claiming to be heirs of the now-defunct Sulu Sultanate, who had initiated arbitration proceedings in Spain demanding USD14.9 billion from Malaysia over historical claims tied to Sabah.
In 2019, a Spanish court controversially appointed Dr Gonzalo Stampa as arbitrator, who subsequently ruled in favour of the claimants in 2022, despite his appointment having been annulled.
Malaysia consistently challenged the legitimacy of the process, eventually achieving a key legal milestone in November 2023 when the French Supreme Court fully dismissed the group’s legal challenge.
That ruling effectively nullified the Final Award under French law.
The decision marked a critical vindication of Malaysia’s legal stance and ended attempts to enforce the claim in France and other jurisdictions. - May 9, 2025