PETALING JAYA: The MCA has called for a special task force in international arbitration to protect Malaysia’s sovereignty over the claims made by the self-proclaimed heirs of the Sulu sultanate.
Its secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon (pic) said the controversial U$14.92bil (RM63bil) award and alleged court ordered seizure of two PETRONAS subsidiaries to these self-proclaimed heirs by a Paris arbitration court was “a direct challenge to our national sovereignty”.
“Malaysia’s sovereignty must be protected.
“MCA urges the Attorney General’s Chambers to immediately establish a special task force comprising local legal experts in international arbitration to make a concerted effort to overturn the ruling,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Chong said this was not the first time Malaysia’s sovereignty had been challenged by these self-proclaimed descendants of the Sulu sultanate.
“The Lahad Datu incident in 2013 remains a dark and unforgettable part of Malaysia’s history, as many of our soldiers gave their lives defending our nation from invading Sulu militants,” he said.
While the recent development had “shocked our nation”, Chong said the incident had also raised another question.
“Will more of our national assets be taken if these descendants of the Sulu Sultan continue to find ways to justify compensation?” he asked.
He said that every Malaysian could play a role and work together to defend the country and protect the welfare of future generations.
On Wednesday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Malaysia had obtained a stay order on the RM63bil award.
He said the Paris Court of Appeal on Tuesday allowed an application by the Malaysian government to suspend enforcing the final award dated Feb 28 following claims by parties who alleged that they were heirs and successors in interest to Sultan Jamalul Kiram II through an international arbitration proceeding in Madrid.
With the stay order, the final award, which had been obtained by Spanish arbitrator Dr Gonzalo Stampa earlier, could not be enforced in any country pending a decision by the French court on the finality of the matter.
Wan Junaidi said the government was currently making preparations for the hearing to quash the final award, although a hearing date had yet to be fixed.
Malaysia also filed criminal proceedings against Stampa for contempt of court in Madrid, which is ongoing.
On Tuesday, Financial Times reported that the so-called Sulu heirs had invoked the Paris arbitration court decision to award RM63bil to them.
The eight Sulu heirs based in the Philippines were represented by London-based lawyers led by Elisabeth Mason.
London-based Financial Times, quoting lawyers for the group, said bailiffs in Luxembourg had seized Luxembourg-registered subsidiaries PETRONAS Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and PETRONAS South Caucasus on behalf of their clients on Monday.
The controversial award by arbitrator Stampa has been disputed by Malaysia, which held that he made the decision even as superior courts in Spain issued a suspension order on the case.
Malaysia subsequently filed an appeal to overturn Stampa’s award to the Sulu heirs in Paris.
Malaysia was not represented during the Paris arbitration proceedings in March.
