| 'Sabah is Philippines'! Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:43 AM PST I believe the standoff in Lahad Datu will be prolonged. We will have to consider if Manila asks for more time to persuade its about 150 citizens to leave Sabah and go back to their homeland. Of course, we will not (however, not my decision) resort to any military action in order to flush them out. Our good relations with Manila will see that any kind of arm confrontation is avoided although the Muslim fighters in some islands across Sabah are ready should situation gets out of control. Well, its up to the wisdom of diplomats from both sides. However, Manila, for the time being should also control its media mercenary by not publishing any more articles on ' claim on Sabah' as this was part of the motivational catalyst that prompted the Sabah invasion. Here is another one: Sabah is Philippines! The Malaysian government is again posed to repatriate several thousand "illegal immigrants" from Sabah to the Philippines this year. The words "repatriate and illegal immigrants" to me are not fitting given that we have not abandoned our claim to that land north of Borneo.
I continue to believe that the Philippines have a legitimate claim to Sabah. The fact that Malaysia is paying more than 7000 ringgits annually to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu until now, clearly showed that they recognize who the rightful owners of Sabah are! How could they lay claim to a territory when they are paying rent to Filipino citizens? You don't have to be a lawyer to figure out that this part of Borneo is legally our turf.
Over the years, several hundred thousand Filipinos were forced out of Sabah, but the present dispensation have not dared to raise even a sigh of protest to this ruthless act against our compatriots. I am not sure why our dear leaders would not dare to antagonize this nation. They prefer to be bullied than asserting the rights of the affected Filipinos in exchange for what, economic ties?
It is very clear that Sabah is very much part of our country and its history. It was once a part of the mighty Sultanate of Sulu. Sabah was reportedly given as a "gift" by the ruler of Brunei to the Sultan of Sulu after the latter helped suppress the rebellion in his kingdom. The lease agreementbetween Sri Paduka Maulana A Sultan Mohammad Jamalul Alam and the British North Borneo Company in 1878, for the latter to use Sabah in exchange for a yearly rent and some weapons, showed that indeed, the territory is owned by the Sultanate of Sulu.
The Philippine's claim over the land started on September 11, 1962 when then President Diosdado Macapagal accepted the declaration of the Sultan of Sulu to surrender Sabah to the Republic. By this declaration, the responsibility to regain control of the territory from the lessee has been effectively transferred to the government of the Philippines. The declaration was made during the time that Malaysia is not yet a sovereign nation, being under the British control.
Malaysia claimed that the 9 heirs of the sultan of Sulu had relinquished their claim over the territory. In 1939, the heirs of the Sultan filed a civil suit against the British company, the lessee, who continue to refuse to turn-over the land to them. During the same year, the court of North Sabah ruled in favor of the heirs. If they claim that the 9 heirs had relinquished their claim to Malaysia, they have been dead long time ago before Malaysia tasted the air of independence. Then, who are these 9 heirs that Malaysia is referring to?
The original 9 who filed a civil suit against the British company were Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao and eight others including Putlih known in our history books as Princess Tarhata.
Therefore, if the heirs had rescinded their claim, it must be the living heirs, probably Sultan Ismael Kiram II which is preposterous even if by all possibility he did it. The 1962 declaration by the Sultan of Sulu in Malacanang that officially turned over the claim to the Philippine Republic sealed the territorial entitlement over Sabah. Therefore, the current heirs cannot just make any decision to withdraw the claim. Therefore, Malaysia's assertion over Sabah is pathetic. Their loyalty to their British masters have been well rewarded that even the leased land of their master's decided to turn over everything under their colony including the rented land of Sabah.
Malaysia's decision to let every Filipinos out of Sabah is certainly part of their agenda to completely get rid of any possible obstacle to their complete seizure of the territory. This will strengthen their claim to the international court that the people living in that territory are Malaysian citizens.
The Philippine government should make a move. We are thankful for Malaysia's assistance in he peace process in Mindanao and of course their investments, but that is out of the point. Our indecisiveness on this issue would bring the same consequences to our other claimed territories. Take note, we still have a claim on Spratleys where Malaysia is one of the five claimants.
For comments, email to roldanalex@yahoo.com This is among the thorns that hurt KL-Manila relations. Yes, there are some truth in it but some of it cannot legitimise such claims. We need to tackle most of the technical parts and loose documentations before taking it to the arbitrators. The standoff in Lahad Datu is already in its third week and the 'final' dateline given for them to leave is by midnight (today), and the invaders had vowed to stay put. What is our next course of action? Are we going to just sit on in for a year or a decade?  |
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