KOTA KINABALU: The Paris Court of Appeal's decision to annul the US$14.9bil "Final Award" to the self-proclaimed Sulu heirs is a decisive ruling and significant victory for Malaysia, says Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (pic).
"As I have stated before, we will defend Sabah's sovereignty within the Federation of Malaysia, and we will never entertain such claims.
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"The decision of the court once again vindicates Sabah's stand all this while," he said on Thursday (Dec 11) in response to a statement from the Sulu Special Secretariat War Room issued on behalf of the Malaysian government.
The court ruling on Tuesday (Dec 9) found that arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa lacked jurisdiction and that there was no valid arbitration agreement binding Malaysia.
Hajiji reiterated the state government's commitment to working with Putrajaya to quash any future claims.
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"We also express our gratitude to the Federal Government for its hard work in defending Sabah's sovereignty," he said.
Eight Philippine nationals claiming to be heirs of the now-defunct Sulu Sultanate had earlier initiated arbitration proceedings in Spain, seeking billions in compensation from Malaysia over Sabah.
In February 2022, they obtained the purported final award of US$14.92bil in an arbitration proceeding against the Malaysian government.
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On June 6, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal refused recognition and enforcement of Stampa’s "Partial Award" issued on May 25, 2020 on the same grounds.
Subsequently, on Nov 6 last year, the French Supreme Court dismissed in full the challenge filed by the claimants against the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal.
The Sulu claimants have since been ordered to pay costs amounting to €200,000 (RM960,000) to Malaysia.
