I was adviser to ‘real’ Sulu sultan, says Umno Youth exco man

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Umno Youth executive councillor Lokman Noor Adam today denied having links with self-professed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, whose brother is leading an armed incursion into Lahad Datu, Sabah.

His denial follows the distribution of a photograph of Lokman’s business card on Twitter and Facebook, where he carries the title of “Advisor to The Crown” of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, and the honorific “Datu Sri Panglima” usually bestowed by the Sulu royalty.

Jamalul is one of the many claimants to the throne of the Sulu Sultanate. — Reuters pic“I admit I was elected by the real Sulu sultan, Sultan Roodinod, son of Sultan Julaspi Kiram, as his advisor around the year 2005 to deal with the Malaysia government regarding their welfare,” Lokman said in a press release here.

Roodinod was recognised by the Malaysian government as the legitimate claimant to the Sulu Sultanate in 2008, for being the heir to Jamalul Kiram II who was proclaimed sultan in 1894.

Roodinod family’s claim has been challenged by rivals with allegations that Jamalul Kiram II died in 1936 without leaving any children.

The last sultan of Sulu officially recognised by the Philippine government was Mahakuttah Kiram, who died in 1986. His eldest son Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram was crowned sultan on September last year, and is one of the many claimants to the throne.

Lokman said he has not contacted Roodinod since 2007.

The panel member of the Department of Special Affairs (JASA) also claimed that he advised the sultanate voluntarily, and has never received any payment for his services.

According to Lokman, Julaspi was rescued by the Malaysian government in 1959, and lived in Sabah before the government gave him a residence in Lorong Maarof, Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur.

When Sabah joined Malaysia in 1963, Julaspi openly supported the move, leading to a front-page headline in a paper saying “Sultan Sulu Restu Sabah Sertai Malaysia (Sulu Sultan approves Sabah joining Malaysia)”, Lokman said.

After the death of Mahakuttah, the Philippine government has not formally recognised any heir, leading many claimants from rival branches to proclaim themselves as the “real” 35th sultan.

Jamalul Kiram III was the “interim sultan” between 1974 and 1981, and was elected “de facto sultan” at a meeting of the Kiram clan in November last year.

The latest claimant to the throne was Malaysian citizen and former Umno member Datu Mohd Akjan Datu Ali Muhammad, who was allegedly crowned the Sultan of Sulu early last month, taking the regal name Sultan Shariful-Hashim II.

Mohd Akjan however denied the coronation, saying the event was just a majlis doa selamat dan kesyukuran (Muslim thanksgiving ceremony).