Cotabato City—The Sultanate of Sulu is revoking a 62-year old document transferring to the Philippine government its claim rights of historic possession of Sabah, according to a resolution passed by the incumbent sultan’s top policymaking body.
The Sulu Sultanate’s Ruma Bichara, the top legislative policymaking body-cum executive council passed the 14-paragraph resolution on August 19, 2021—seeking to “recall, refute, revoke, cancel, abrogate” the “deed of cession,” executed in 1962 by Sultan Mohammad Esmael Kiram II “transferring the sultanate’s sovereign rights over North Borneo” to the Philippine Government, then represented by President Diosdado Macapagal, Incumbent Sulu Sultan Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram said under such latest document on the sultanate’s claim of historic possession rights also sought to “recall, refute, revoke, cancel, abrogate” the lease agreement executed by his forebear Sultan Jamalul A’lam in favor of Dent and Overbeck in 1878.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has “ever since” distanced itself from the issue and has sustained its preference for cordiality with regards to its relations with Malaysia, BARMM officials assured.
It can be recalled that Malaysia has hosted the bilateral rounds of prior peace talk that led to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and its annexes. The CAB and the subsequent enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (RA 11054) have become the bases of the continuing peace process in the Southern Philippines.
Incidentally, the incumbent Sulu Sultan is the nephew of Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, one of the staunchest opposition leaders to Congress’ extension of the tenure of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA). But their kindred camps said the Tans respect each other’s political positions on issues.
The current Sultan Kiram said the Philippine government through the Department of Foreign Affairs had yet to reply to the communiqué sent by the Sulu Ruma Bichara which ratifies every policy declaration made by the sultanate based on popular consultation. Maulana
But he said the Philippine government can lose by default the deed of cession, as granted by Kiram II in 1962 for the Philippine government to pursue what is now known as the Philippine Sabah Claim.
Under such a situation, the sultan said he would be compelled to cooperate with China for the sultanate to pursue the claim, less any diplomatic persuasion by the Philippines on the issue.
Malaysian authorities have contended that the Philippines has lost the Sabah Claim case when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) denied Philippines’ Petition for Leave of Court on the Sabah Claim controversy in a court intervention bid into the Malaysia-Indonesia territorial dispute on Sipadan in 2004—which Malaysia won.
Political pundits critical of the issue said Malaysia should even have its stake at Philippine elections of presidents, if only to secure the federal states from any persuasive stance on the issue of Sabah claim—as it happened in the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff.
In 1988, then-President Cory Aquino had the dropping of Sabah Claim prioritized by the Philippines’ Eighth Congress, the first post-martial law legislature.
For reason not widely known, however, the Philippine Congress failed to pass the measure, sponsored by then Maguindanao Rep. Datu Michael O. Mastura.
Notably, the Aquinos and the Liberal Party (except for Senators Jovito Salonga and Teofisto Guingona Jr.) then became close to Malaysia, following the Senate expose by then Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. of the March 18, 1968, Jabidah Massacre in which were killed young Moro army recruits into a purported covert mission to invade Sabah.
Political foes of Marcos have contended that the Sulu Sultanate had also renewed its “deed of cession” to the Philippines under his watch in 1972. But this could hardly be confirmed as inclusive of the documents filed by DFA lawyers in ICJ in the intervention petition into the Sipadan disputes between Indonesia and Malaysian in 2004.
