Govt penny wise, pound foolish over Sulu sultanate payments

 

ADUN SPEAKS | It is unbelievable that the sovereignty of Sabah has come to haunt Malaysia nearly 60 years after the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

The seizure of the two Petronas’ assets through the court action by the purported heirs of the Sulu sultanate has brought to fore the possibility of more seizures around the world.

It is believed that Petronas has about 167 global assets.

Even though the execution of the two assets might be set aside for the moment, there is the possibility of them falling into the hands of the so-called Sulu sultanate heirs which cannot be discounted.

There is a real danger of assets falling into the claimants if the countries in which they are located are signatories of the international arbitration agreement.

What was applicable in France can be applicable to other countries, principally the signatories of the arbitration agreement.

It must be remembered that when Malaysia discontinued the payments of an annual stipend to the Sulu sultanate in 2013, an arbitration mechanism was established to resolve the problem.

Unfortunately, the arbitration process was not able to function leading ultimately to the seizures of the Petronas assets.

Even if there was an armed incursion in Sabah, there was no need to discontinue the annual payments that were agreed upon historically.

Careless BN govt

It was complete shortsightedness on the part of the BN government to stop the annual payments.

If only they had the wisdom and vision to anticipate what might possibly happen in the future.

The earnings from the Petronas oil and gas fields were not something lost upon the heirs of the Sulu sultanate.

The BN government totally and carelessly underestimated the resolve of the heirs to pursue the matter at the international level.

It is the value of oil and gas that has prompted the heirs to seek a whopping amount of more than RM60 billion from the Malaysian government.

For Malaysia it is a case of penny wise, pound foolish.

I don’t think that the heirs are going to rest until the matter is resolved one way or another.

It is not about the financial claims, but about whether the heirs have a legitimate claim over Sabah.

The seizure of Petronas assets is all about the heirs of the Sulu sultanate claiming sovereignty over Sabah.

In other words, the sovereignty of Sabah is at stake.

Malaysia has hardly come out of the mess surrounding the loss of the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh, the question of Sabah hangs like the sword of Damocles. - Mkini

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P RAMASAMY is Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.