PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad had urged the government to cease payments to the heirs of the Sulu sultanate over the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013, says former prime minister Najib Razak.
In a Facebook post, Najib mocked his former mentor, asking “Do you know who this is?”, attaching a photo of a newspaper clipping from Utusan Malaysia, dated March 13, 2013, featuring a story on Mahathir asking for the RM5,300 annual payments to be stopped.
“Yet, he (Mahathir) is now blaming the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration for stopping the payment to the heirs of the Sulu sultanate,” he said.
In the report, Mahathir said the payment should be stopped because the alleged Sulu descendants had allegedly breached the terms.
Earlier this month, it was reported that two Petronas subsidiaries in Azerbaijan were seized by bailiffs after a French arbitration court ruled in March that Malaysia had to pay the alleged Sulu descendants at least RM62.59 billion.
The Financial Times reported that the seizure was part of legal efforts launched in 2017 by the heirs to receive compensation for land in Sabah that they said their ancestor leased to a British trading company in 1878.
However, the government obtained a stay order against the enforcement of the French arbitration court ruling that ordered it to pay US$14.92 billion to the heirs of the sultanate.
In another Facebook post a few hours later, Najib said the Lahad Datu incursion led by one of the claimants to the Sulu sultanate gave Malaysia the right to stop paying the annual compensation to the heirs.
He said they no longer had any right over Sabah as the state was a part of Malaysia’s sovereignty, adding that Putrajaya must defend this stance in any court or lawsuit.
It was previously reported that former attorney-general Tommy Thomas had sent a letter in 2019 expressing regret that Malaysia had not paid the alleged descendants following the Lahad Datu intrusion.
According to the letter, Thomas offered to settle the multi-billion dollar claim with a RM48,000 compensation payment.
Sabah Law Society (SLS) president Roger Chin yesterday said Thomas’s admission had put Malaysia in a tight spot in its efforts to defend itself against the Sulu claim.
Najib also took aim at Thomas’ action, questioning Mahathir, who was the prime minister under the Pakatan Harapan government, if he had approved of the ex-AG’s letter.
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