Negotiate to end the Sabah dispute

Is "Money, money, money," as the popular 1976 hit song by Abba goes, the solution to the Sabah standoff? 

Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III's claim for Sabah is nothing new. Every once in while it will crop up when relations are strained with Philippines or when the sultan is unhappy and needs compensation (money) or land as a settlement to his claim over Sabah.

Behind the scenes, diplomats of both countries have been burning the midnight lamp trying to work out a speedy solution to the Feb 9 Sulu intrusion into Sabah.

All kinds of rumours are circulating, one that money was paid to the Sulu sultan for a settlement, but it was pocketed by some top notch middleman. No one can confirm that a payment was made. But, yes the sultanate was offered millions of ringgit during the Ramos regime.

Award-winning columnist and novelist of the Philippines, Glenda M Gloria, states in an article: "The Sultanate of Sulu has always been open to a settlement. But the squabbling heirs couldn't agree on how to do it. Under Cory Aquino (right), top-level sources told us before, Malaysia offered the Sultanate at least US$70 million (RM217 million) as settlement.

"But a politician who claimed to be one of the heirs protested, scuttling the talks. Under Ramos, Malaysia asked Philippine officials to persuade the heirs to accept the setting up of a ‘generously funded' foundation that will assist Muslim communities in Mindanao, according to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Parouk Hussin. However, no agreement was ever reached."

The proprietary claims over Sabah date back to Jan 23, 1878, and even earlier, as the then ruler of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Alam II, leased Sabah (then known as North Borneo) to Gustavus Von Overbeck for an annual rent equivalent to RM5,000 through Von Overbeck's trading partner Alfred Dent. This amount of money is, until today, being paid to the heirs of the Sulu sultan by the Malaysian Embassy in the Philippines.

According to a former Sabah Tourism officer, the keyword in the written agreement is "pajak" which if translated literally means "lease". It was also explicitly written that the rights to Sabah cannot be transferred to any other nation or anyone else without the Sulu sultan's express consent.

The Spaniards then came to Manila and they eventually took control of the entire Sulu sultanate; and in 1885, Great Britain, Germany, and Spain signed the Madrid Protocol.

North Borneo was a British protectorate from the late 19th century, until it became a crown colony.

It gained a brief period of independence before becoming part of Malaysia in 1963. From then, Malaysia paid RM5,300 as cession payment each year to the Sulu sultanate.

Manila, too, won't relinquish claim to Sabah

The former tourism officer said: "However, the British government, as we all know, arrogantly and unilaterally did turn Sabah into a Crown-leased Colony on July 10, 1946, even though there was a declaration by Chief Justice CFC Makaskie of the High Court of North Borneo on Dec 19, 1939, in a civil suit filed by Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao and eight other heirs of the Sulu sultan, including Putlih Tarhata Kiram, that the successor of the Sulu sultan in the territory of Sabah was Punjungan Kiram and not Great Britain!

"Earlier on, in 1941, the Constitution of the Philippines stated specifically that the national territory of the Philippines includes "all other areas which belong to the Philippines on the basis of historical rights or legal claims", which means that the Philippines has never relinquished its claim to Sabah."

So, who can resolve an international territorial dispute? The International Court of Justice in The Hague is the venue for all claims involving territorial disputes. There are now at least 11 claimants to the title of ‘Sultan of Sulu', including Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Therefore, who would the governments rightfully negotiate with? It gets more complicated if you negotiate with one and later the others come around and say they were left out.

Both Malaysia and the Philippines did well in their negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a few months ago to settle their disputes. And, has this upset the sultan for being left out of the negotiations to his long standing claim to Sabah?

Columnist Ben D Kritz of The Manila Times.net in an article published on March 4 reveals that Jamalul Kiram III sent a letter to the Philippines president requesting his inclusion in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This evidence exposes the conspiracy between the Aquino administration of the Philippines and the government of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The explanation from President Benigno Aquino (right) was that the letter was "lost" is simply inexcusable, says the writer. Later, the Philippines foreign secretary apologised for the error in not replying to the letter.

"The omission of Sulu from the talks, as well as the omission of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), was clearly intentional. As the intermediary third party, Malaysia is undoubtedly well aware of who all the interested parties are, and is thus complicit in the exclusion of some of them," Kritz states.

'Sabah standoff a karma'

A retired Malaysian diplomat who was involved in the negotiations, said: "Diplomacy is essential to ring fence this issue so that Malaysia's relations with the Sulu people and Manila are not ruptured. It is also essential to recognise that the character of Sabah, as an integral part with its own unique characteristics, must be respected by Malaysia.

Now, Malaysia may regret its policy of instant citizenship to the Filipinos, which was aimed at retaining Sabah under the Barisan Nasional ruling party. We may now be in an imbroglio as far too many Sulu people having been provided with permanent stay facilities."

In retrospect, Ramon Tulfo in his feature titled "Sabah Standoff: Karma" in the Philippine Daily Inquirer of Feb 20, 2013, commented: "When the Philippines government was fighting the MNLF in the 1970s through the 1980s, Malaysia was secretly supporting the rebellion in the South. Weapons coming from Libya and other Middle East countries passed through Malaysia on their way to the MNLF. Now, it seems the shoe is on the other foot. The law of karma is being played out."

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has been blamed for the dispute, but he responded immediately and denied the far fetched allegations in Utusan Malaysia and TV 3. Instead, he has urged for an immediate meeting between the leadership of Pakatan and the prime minister, home minister and defence minister, followed by a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the intrusion.

This is a "political crisis" in Sabah stemming from the Lahad Datu standoff, and military action to solve the crisis is a temporary solution. A political solution through proper negotiations without bloodshed is the best way for a long-term strategy to improve the situation in Sabah so that the claim for Sabah does not recur.

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M KRISHNAMOORTHY is a freelance journalist and local coordinator for CNN, BBC and several other foreign television networks. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and New Straits Times and has authored four books.