No compromise in defending sovereignty against Sulu claims, says govt

Azalina, the Minister for Law and Institutional Reforms, will be the government's representative in Europe to handle the issue of the Sulu heirs' claims. – BERNAMApic

KUALA LUMPUR. Malaysia is studying all available measures to counter the self-styled Sulu heirs' claims in efforts to preserve its sovereignty, says the Special Secretariat on Sulu Claims.

"The government will not compromise on aspects of national sovereignty and security,” it said in a statement on Tuesday (March 14).

The secretariat said the government is also checking further to determine if any of the eight claimants have links to the Royal Sulu Forces (RSF) terrorist group that was prosecuted for the armed incursion at Lahad Datu in Sabah.

"RSF has been declared a terrorist group by the government since April last year,” the secretariat added.

It said the legal actions taken by the claimants so far, especially through the commercial arbitration process, were inappropriate from a legal point of view and directly challenged Malaysia’s sovereignty.

"Any action taken by the claimants through commercial arbitration is mala fide (bad faith), given that the Sulu side had in 1939, approached the North Borneo High Court for a dispute that arose at that time,” it said.

According to the secretariat, the Malaysian government insisted that the claimants' rights and claims were invalid, void and terminated through the exercise of the right to self-determination by the people of Sabah through the consultation of the Cobbold Commission in 1962 and the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Besides, it said, the 1878 agreement which served as the basis for the arbitration conducted in Spain and France did not have any arbitration clause and was not a commercial contract.

"The arising dispute involves national sovereignty and Malaysia has never at any time waived its sovereign immunity, and the arbitrator has no authority to resolve the matter brought by the claimants,” it said.

The secretariat said it was also in line with the order issued by the Sabah High Court on behalf of the Malaysian government on Jan 14, 2020.

On March 7, foreign media reported that French bailiffs had attempted to enforce a seizure order on three Paris properties owned by the Malaysian government there following a bid by the Sulu group to enforce a US$15bil (RM66bil) award they had won against Malaysia.

On March 9, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said will be the government's representative to Europe, including France, to handle the issue of the Sulu group’s claims. – Bernama