It goes without saying that the Philippine government must
exercise a role in the settlement since sovereign territory is involved.
In 2013, a group of 200 poorly-armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, many brandishing ancient swords, landed in Sabah to press the claim on the territory, which resulted in the death of 56 members of the Royal Sulu Army, six civilians and 10 members of the Malaysian security force.
(photo credit to owner) |
Despite the tragic
outcome of the incursion, which both then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
and President Noynoy Aquino scoffed at, it now appears that the bold effort has
its reward.
The lawyers of the Sultanate convinced the French arbitral
court to award $14.9 billion to the Sulu heirs, it has now been revealed,
through the extensive use of a letter from a top-ranking Malaysian official who
made reference to the yearly compensation that his government stopped providing
after the Lahad Datu incident in 2013.
Malaysian legal
experts admitted the 2019 letter of former attorney-general Tommy Thomas has
greatly compromised the country, since it acknowledged Malaysia owing money to
the Sulu Sultanate.
Sabah Law Society
president Roger Chin said Thomas’ admission had put Malaysia in a tight spot in
its efforts to defend itself against the Sulu claim.
The Sultanate’s lawyers also used Thomas’ memoir My Story: Justice
in the Wilderness, which contained his views on the implications of the 2013
skirmish.
“That was an admission
of owing money, which would certainly have been damaging,” Chin said.
In the 2019 letter to
the lawyers of the Sulu heirs, Thomas also attached a copy of a 1939 judgement
by the North Borneo High Court, and said Malaysia did not dispute the identity
of the individuals and their right to be paid.
Thomas also expressed
regret that payments to the heirs had ceased in 2013, and added that Malaysia
was “now ready and willing” to pay the heirs all arrears from 2013 to 2019
amounting to 48,300 Malaysian ringgit, or P611,000, which is an amount far less
than the $14.9 billion award.
What took the cake was
the failure of Thomas to indicate that the letter was “without prejudice” or
that it can’t be used as evidence in the legal tussle.
Thus, the contents of
Thomas’ letter were “relied upon” by the Sultanate’s lawyers in their arbitration
claim against Malaysia in Madrid and Paris.
Sabah Progressive
Party president Yong Teck Lee added Thomas had essentially admitted that the
1878 Sulu deed was still valid and that Malaysia had been “legally erroneous in
stopping the payments” after 2013.
Sulu Sultanate lawyer
Salma Rasul said the descendants of Sultan Jamalul Ahlam who signed the 1878
agreement must come up with a unified position regarding the claim, following
the huge award.
It goes without saying that the Philippine government must exercise
a role in the settlement since sovereign territory is involved.
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