Get the facts right!

If one has no idea of who and what is VAT69, you don't know history and should have done your research before questioning why allow police to handle first and not the army. 

The answer to several other issues raised and hurled by the public and rudely expressed by opposition cybertroopers on the intrusion by the so-called Royal Army of Sulu was addressed in yesterday's posting [read here]. Strange that some opposition members support Sulu Sultanate claim on Sabah.

There is an excellent posting done with academic references by blog Andak Jauhar. The posting is in Malay, so those Malaysians can go and read it here.

For the rest, including Malaysian incapable of reading the national language because there are those that secured their citizenship by corrupting NRD officers as revealed in the Sabah RCI and use political pressure through demonstrations despite do not qualify, there will be a translated English version.

Our word to those propagandist and opposition cybertroopers working on over time to ridicule our boys that is defending the country against intruders. Don't just shoot your fuc&!^g @$$  mouth and think your arguments make sense and are smart. 

They are not. So, get your fuc&!^g facts right first!

1. Who are the Intruders?
 

The group that invaded claimed themselves as the army to the Sultanate of Sulu (The Royal Sulu Sultanate Army)1 came from Southern Philippines and consist of an estimated 200-400 people, with 20-100 of them armed2.

The group is led by one claiming to be Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, the younger brother of the claimed former Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and the Sultan Ismael Kiram II3,4. Jamalul Kiram III ran for the office of Senatopr in the Phillipines election.


2. Does the Intruding Group represent the Sulu Sultanate?

No.



The Philippine government stopped recognizing the Sultan of Sulu since the death of Sultan Mohd. Mahakuttah A. Kiram in 1986.  

The coronation ceremony. of the Mohd. Mahakuttah A. Kiram as the Sultan of Sulu in 1974. Seen walking towards the Sultan is his son, Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram, who was appointed as sucessor Raja Muda. The intruding group is the followers of Ismael Kiram II, who had never been installed as the Sultan of Sulu, twho was recognized by the Philippine government.

Now there are two main parties claiming to be the Sultan of Sulu:

First, Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram, son of the last Sultan of Sulu recognized by the Philippine government, the Sultan Mohd. Mahakuttah A. Kiram. He was appointed as the Regent of the coronation day of his father as sultan.

Second, Ismael Kiram II, the brother of the one leading the invasion, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.

3. What is the purpose of the Intruder?

'The former sultan' Jamalul Kiram III announced that the group want to make Sabah their home base.

He was quoted as saying, "Why should we leave our own home? The fact is they (Malaysians) pay rent (to us). Our followers will stay in Lahad Datu, Sabah. No one will be deported to the Philippines. Sabah is our home ".2

4. Is the Philippines making claim on  Sabah?

Yes.

Philippine claim on Sabah because the Sultanate of Sulu, which is based in the Philippines, have the rights on Sabah. 

Justice Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President of the Philippines has  directed to conduct a study on the Sultanate of Sulu claim against Sabah.5

5. Can Malaysia make claims against territory of Philippines if the Sulu Sultanate make Sabah as it's administration centre?

Sabah has never been the center of the Sulu Sultanate.

In fact, Sabah is considered as less important by the Sultanate of Sulu that it was ceded to the British North Borneo Company on January 22, 1878.
 

Sultan Palace at administration centre in Maimbung, Jolo. 'The Sultanate of Sulu' does not have any political power in Jolo but want to claim political power on the state of Sabah.

Sultanate of Sulu is located in the center Maimbung, Jolo.


6. Are party/ies in Malaysia supporting the Sulu Sultanate claim on Sabah?

The representative of the Manila Times in Mindanao, Al Jacinto, reported that the intrusions by Royal Army of Sultanate of Sulu 'occurs when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the People's Alliance, suggested that Sabah was given power of autonomy.6

The Manila Times reported that intrusion by the Sulu Sultanate army occured after Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim suggested that Sabah be given autonomy.

ABS-CBN News reported that the intruder had been invited by a member of the opposition:

A Philippine military officer interviewed by Reuters also said the men were followers of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu – an island group off the southern Philippines – who had been invited to Sabah by a Malaysian opposition politician to discuss land issues.7

ABS-CBN News melaporkan seorang pegawai tentera Filipina memberitahu Reuters bahawa kumpulan penceroboh telah diundang seorang ahli politik pembangkang.

The Star reported that when Anwar Ibrahim was asked whether the report that opposition group invited intruders into Sabah is true, his reply was:

Who is the one who gave it?8

7. Did Malaysia pay rent to Philippines for Sabah?

No.

Malaysia pays only 'cession money' of USD5, 000 per year to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu. The 'cession money' is the cession payment and not payment of rent.  

Other than Sabah, there are other regions in the world that paid cessation fee. For example:

1. Louisiana was ceded to the United States by France for a sum of USD15 million, or approximately USD0.03 per acre.
2. Alaska was ceded to the United States , ceded by Russia to the United States with payment of USD7.2 million, or USD0.02 per acre.

8. What territory do the Sulu Sultanate have right to?

Royal House of Sulu9, the official website of Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram, claimed that the territories in which the Sulu Sultanate have rights over include Jolo, Palawan, Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines, as well as Sabah and Balambangan Island in Malaysia. They claimed the Sulu Sultanate have rights over the Spratly Islands.

Jolo, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi is currently under the administrative region of the Philippines called Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The proposal was to place the new autonomous region of ARMM under the Bangsamoro.

9. Does Phillipines recognise the Sulu Sultanate?

No.

The last time the Philippine government recognised the Sultan of Sulu was on May 24, 1974. It was  when the then President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, issued a Memorandum Order No. 427 to install Mohd. Mahakuttah A. Kiram as Sultan.
 

Memorandum Order No. 427 is the last evidence from the Philippine government that recognise the Sulu Sultanate. There is no memorandum issued to any individual who claims to 'sultan' afterwards. Philippines does not recognize the Sultanate of Sulu but never claim the territories that supposedly remain as the Sultanate of Sulu.

Since the death of Sultan Mohd. Mahakuttah A. Kiram, the Philippine government did not recognize any individual as the Sultan of Sulu.

10. Does it imply that Philippines is manipulating the Sulu Sultanate to claim Sabah?
  
Philippines reportedly has started 'Operation Merdeka' in 1967, a military operation to train troops and commandos of the Tausug and Sama ethnic Muslim to create instability and chaos in Sabah. However, as soon as it was known that the operation was to fight against a government led by Muslims, ethnic Tausug and Sama trainees demanded to return. However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had allegedly shot and killed the trainees. It was reported that 11 to 64 people were shot dead. This incident is known as the Massacre of Jabidah) or Corregidor Massacre. 

William Larousse10, Michael Leifer11, Andrew T. H. Tan12 and Alfred W. McCoy13 are among the authors that wrote of this incident. 

11. What is the chances of the Philippines claim on Sabah should the case be brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)? 

Slim.

First, the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu received 'cession money' until today. This means that the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu acknowledge that Sabah was ceded rather than leased to the British North Borneo Company. 

Second, the Philippine government stopped recognizing the Sultan of Sulu since the death of Sultan Mohd. Mahakuttah A. Kiram in 1986. 

Grant of a lease that become a source of conflict has been signed by the Sultan of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul that was drawn up by Gustavus Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent, representing the British North Borneo Company, on January 22, 1878.

Third, grant leases signed between the British North Borneo Company and the Sultanate of Sulu was overruled by the Madrid Protocol of 1885.Spain, which controls the provinces of Sulu Sultanate of the time, had signed an agreement with Germany and Great Britain on March 7, 1885 for the release of all claims against the sovereignty of Sabah:

Article 3

The Spanish Government relinquishes as far as regards the British Government, all claim of sovereignty over the territories of the continent of Borneo which belong, or which have belonged in the past, to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo), including therein the neighboring islands of Balambangan, Banguey and Malawali, as well as all those islands lying within a zone of three marine leagues along the coasts and which form part of the territories administered by the Company styled the ‘British North Borneo Company’.

Fourth, the Sulu Sultanate is considered to have been terminated as soon as the Sultan Jamalul Kiram II signed Carpenter Agreement on March 22, 1915 in which he surrendered all his political power to the United States. 

Fifth, the Malaysian government have taken the responsibility to develop the infrastructure for the benefit of the people of Sabah since 1963 without any opposition from the Sulu Sultanate and Government of Philippines. This proves for the peaceful possession and continuous administration by the Government of Malaysia on Sabah. 

According to the principle of "Effectivites" that will be taken account by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Malaysia will be awarded Sabah based on the similar principle in the case of Malaysia's successful claim over the Islands of Sipadan and Ligitan. 

Sixth, the Cobbold Commission report issued on 1 August 1962 found that 1/3 the people of Sabah and Sarawak strongly support the formation of Malaysia, 1/3 also support the rights of Malaysia provided their rights are protected, while the remaining 1/3 was divided between wanting independence and  continue under British administration.

Seventh, the UN Secretary General, U Thant reported in 1963 that the people of Sabah "wish to bring their dependent status to an end and to realise their independence through freely chosen association with other peoples in their region”15.

Eighth, if the Sulu Sultanate claimed that Sabah belong to them, then it is to be consistent for the Sulu Sultanate to not only make a claim on Sabah but also claim and control their own administrative centers in Jolo, Palawan province apart from reclaiming the provinces they claim as their of Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi from the  Philippines. 

However, the Sultanate of Sulu does not have any political power over the provinces located in the Philippines.

More to come on Phillipines claim on Sabah.

REFERENCES: 

1. “Sulu sultan’s army stakes Sabah claim,” philstar.com, 16 Februari, 2013,http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/02/16/909400/sulu-sultans-army-stakes-sabah-claim

 

2. “Pengikut Sultan Sulu Tidak Akan Tinggalkan Lahad Datu,” mStar Online, 18 Februari, 2013, http://mstar.com.my/berita/cerita.asp?file=/2013/2/18/mstar_berita/20130218160807&sec=mstar_berita

 

3. “Salasilah Hubungan Kesultanan Brunei-Suluk,” SMJ-Site,http://www.freewebs.com/julabbi_cairo12/familytree.htm

 

4. “The true Sultan of Sulu,” http://www.fakesulusultans.com/

 

5. “Gov’t to assess Sabah claim,” BusinessWorld Online, 21 Februari, 2013,http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Gov%E2%80%99t-to-assess-Sabah-claim&id=66237

 

6. “Our Sultan of Sulu and Sabah,” The Manila Times Online, 16 Februari, 2013, http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/editorials/41591-our-sultan-of-sulu-and-sabah

 

7. “‘Royal Sulu Army’ in Malaysia stand-off,” ABS-CBNnews.com, 15 Februari, 2013, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/02/14/13/royal-sulu-army-malaysia-stand

 

8. “We did not invite Sulu gunmen, says Anwar,” The Star Online, 22 Februari, 2013, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/2/22/nation/12745258&sec=nation

 

9. “Sultan of Sulu,” Sultaniyyah Sin Lupah Sug, http://www.royalsultanateofsulu.org/#!sultan-of-sulu

 

10. William Larousse, A Local Church Living For Dialogue: Muslim-Christian Relations in Mindanao-Sulu (Philippines), Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, 2001.

 

11. Michael Leifer, Michael Leifer: selected works on Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005.

 

12. Andrew T. H. Tan, A Handbook of Terrorism and Insurgency in Southeast Asia, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2007.

 

13. Alfred W. McCoy, Policing America’s Empire: The United States, The Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2009.

 

14. “Case Concerning Sovereignty Over Pulau Ligitan And Pulau Sipadan,”International Court of Justice, 17 Disember, 2002, http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/102/7714.pdf

15. “Case Concerning Sovereignty Over Pulau Ligitan And Pulau Sipadan,”World Court Digest, 23 Oktober, 2001,http://www.mpil.de/ww/en/pub/research/details/publications/institute/wcd.cfm?fuseaction_wcd=aktdat&aktdat=201010200400.cfm