No evidence of Philippine govt’s involvement in Sulu heir claims, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no evidence suggesting the Philippine government’s involvement in the so-called Sulu Sultanate heirs' claim on Sabah, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"As of now, there is no evidence of the Philippine government’s involvement in this. This I have to emphasise here," he said during a special briefing in the Dewan Rakyat after an emergency motion was filed to allow the premier to provide an update on the Sulu case.

"I met President Marcos (Ferdinand Marcos Jr) twice. Of course, we are offended but it does not involve the Philippine government," he added.

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He noted that the bilateral ties between the two countries are good. He added that Sabah’s status as a sovereign and independent state will not be affected.

Anwar was responding to a question by Datuk Khlir Nor (PN-Ketereh), who claimed that he believed that the Philippine government was involved in the matter and the Lahad Duta incursion in 2013.

Anwar said the government would not entertain any claims, be it by the Sulu claimants or the Philippine government, as Sabah is Malaysia’s "sacred" territory.

He said this was not only decided by the governments of Malaysia as well as the governments of Sabah and Sarawak, but also by the people.

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He said the Sulu claimants had no locus standii to lay their claim on Sabah. He also noted that it was strange that the systems of the countries where the Sulu claimant had filed arbitration proceedings had allowed such claims which breached the sovereignty of the country.

"Another country cannot use their judiciary to question the sovereignty of any countries which have already been recognised," he said.

"We are forced to use all our might to respond in Madrid, in Paris, in Luxembourg because if we don't reply or are slow in our responses, the decision will affect our interest overseas," he added.