'Pay RM62.59b Sulu claim or damage Malaysia’s trading nation position'

Malaysia is obligated as a signatory of the New York Convention to pay the US$14.92 (RM62.59 billion) arbitral amount awarded to the Sulu descendants, their lawyer contended.

Counsel Elisabeth Mason, from London-based 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square, said that refusal to abide by the Feb 28 Spanish arbitration ruling would put Malaysia at risk of suffering severe damage to its position as a trading nation and investment destination.

The lawyer advised that it is not feasible for Malaysia to refuse to fulfil its responsibility as a signor just because of an adverse arbitral decision.

“Malaysia, like almost every country, is a signatory of the New York Convention, which covers arbitral law.

“It is not realistic for Malaysia suddenly to reject the benefits and obligations of being a signatory, simply because it has received an adverse ruling.

“If Malaysia was to turn its back on a legal process such as this, it would severely damage its position as a trading nation and a destination for investment.

“And the other 167 nations in the convention would still enforce the judgment,“ Mason said in an email to Malaysiakini recently.

She was responding to the Putrajaya voicing out strong opposition to paying the massive amount to the descendants of the last Sulu sultan.

Sovereign immunity

Putrajaya has declared the Spanish arbitration ruling a breach of Malaysia's sovereign immunity.

The government claimed that the award is null and void due to questions about the fitness of Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa to hear the arbitration proceedings.

Malaysia contended that Stampa is also under investigation by Spanish prosecutors for alleged contempt of court orders in both Spain and France.

When contacted by Malaysiakini this afternoon, Attorney-General Idrus Harun declined to comment over Mason's statement.

The arbitration ruling was in relation to the Sulu claimants’ contention that Malaysia committed a breach of the 1878 agreement, signed by Sultan Jamal Al Alam, German-born adventurer Baron de Overbeck, and the British North Borneo Company’s Alfred Dent.

Malaysia has stopped paying Sultan Sulu’s heirs their annual RM5,300 cession money since 2013 following the Lahad Datu armed incursion. - Mkini