The events in recent weeks concerning claims by the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate in relation to Sabah are a culmination of years of Malaysia neglecting matters related to national sovereignty.
Associate Prof Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said the episode was also a manifestation of other things that were happening in the country, where they are handled in an ad hoc manner.
“The crux of the matter is that the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate and the Philippines have been staking claims on Sabah for many, many years,” said Azeem, who is Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Policy Research and International Studies director.
“At one level, the matter appeared settled, but then later, the descendants of the Sulu Sultanate made claims, because they feel that the British had actually leased Sabah from their ancestors,” he said.
Then came a decision by a French Arbitration Court in February, which ordered Malaysia to pay US$14.92 billion (RM63 billion) to the self-proclaimed heirs of the Sulu Sultanate. This led to two Luxembourg-registered subsidiaries of Petronas being served with a seizure notice on July 11.
On July 13, Malaysia announced that it had obtained a stay order against the enforcement of the French arbitration court ruling.
“The problem is also a result of having three different governments in a short period of time. From what we gathered, this issue cropped up when (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak was prime minister,” Azeem said.
“When the change of government happened (following the 2018 General Election), from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, it was as though we did not devote enough resources to handle this issue, as the government was preoccupied with other things. The current government will be clocking its first year of service next month.”
He said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) too, may have neglected the matter.
“We don’t know which AG was responsible. It may have been (Tan Sri) Apandi (Ali) or (Tan Sri) Tommy Thomas, or (Tan Sri) Idrus Harun. We’ve also had three attorneys-general in that short period of time.”
Azeem said Malaysians have been kept in the dark and do not know what really transpired, as the government had not revealed much about the recent French Arbitration Court ruling.
“The recent events surrounding the matter began in 2013, after Malaysia stopped making token payments to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu.”
Malaysia stopped making the payments following the Lahad Datu incursion, which was led by one of the claimants of the Sulu Sultanate.
“The government had kept it under wraps for many years, and now that it is out in the open, it doesn’t seem to have a clear answer of why this is happening,” he said.
In 1878, the then Sultan of Sulu, signed an agreement, which allowed the British North Borneo Company to take over Sabah. Malaysia took over the arrangement after independence from Britain, annually paying a token sum to the heirs. But the payments were stopped in 2013 after Malaysia argued that no one else had a right over the oil-rich state, which is part of Malaysia.
Last week, Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis had called for a motion for the matter to be debated in Parliament, but it was shot down by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Harun.
“Debating the matter in Parliament alone will not solve the problem, given how our MPs behave. It’s not beneficial at all,” Azeem added.
He noted that Malaysia had also, in one way or another, given some credence to the claim of the Sulu Sultanate, by virtue of making token payments in the past.
“It’s an extremely complex matter and the government chose to give a closed-door explanation to MPs,” he said.
“Some believe we should not make public our strategy until the matter goes to court. But at the same time, the public needs to know what is going on, and how we plan to handle the issue.”
From a public policy point of view, Azeem said the handling of the issue was “not up to par” as it involved national security.
“I think we have been neglecting many aspects of our national security. Something like this needs to be handled in a more comprehensive manner. It should be based on knowledge, as well as legal precedents. Malaysia should take note of how other nations handle such matters,” he added.
He said the government and the Foreign Affairs Ministry should also come out and reveal what they have done so far in dealing with this issue.
“Petronas, being a multinational corporation, should know how to handle this matter. They have their own panel of experts, and they have many assets worldwide. But I think if we don’t do anything at all, we will be in for a surprise,” he said.
Azeem also noted that the best way to handle this issue is to go to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“Take the matter to The Hague. But before we do so, we must have a clear understanding of the issue in its entirety. We must make sure we can win. Otherwise, it is going to be problematic.
“We need to set up a special committee made up of experts in history, as well as international law, as in the issue of Pedra Branca. But we lost (in the Pedra Branca case), as we were not prepared,” he added.
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