Kalabakan MP Ma'mun Sulaiman has questioned if Sabah remains relevant to the government following a rejected motion to debate the seizure of Petronas assets worth US$2 billion.
Warisan’s Ma’mun (above) wanted to know the East Malaysian state’s importance to the government.
“I just want to ask the Malaysian government whether Sabah is still relevant to the government.
“Why is Sabah’s history always denied but Sabah’s natural resources are always taken away from the state and brought here to build up the peninsular states while Sabah remains left behind?” he asked during a press conference in Parliament today.
He added that the state’s safety was often not taken seriously.
Ma’mun was one of several MPs seen defending Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) when chaos broke out in the Dewan Rakyat today after a motion to debate the seizure of Petronas assets by the purported heirs of the Sulu sultanate was rejected.
Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, in blocking the debate, cited sub judice rules which prevent the Lower House from debating such matters in court.
MPs including Ramkarpal Singh (Pakatan Harapan-Bukit Gelugor) accused Azhar of conflict of interest, as the latter's brother Idrus Harun was involved in the Petronas matter in his capacity as attorney-general.
Azhar, however, rejected this notion, ordering Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan to proceed with the second reading of the National Forestry (Amendment) Bill 2022.
However, some MPs did not let up, pointing out that this was a matter of national sovereignty.
Continued protests then prompted deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon to warn Isnaraissah to sit down, to which she refused, resulting in him issuing a two-day suspension against her.
However, she refused to budge, as MPs formed a human barricade around her to prevent Dewan Rakyat ushers from physically ejecting her.
What else are we waiting for?
Isnaraissah, alongside party colleagues Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman and Labuan MP Rozman Isli, joined the Kalabakan MP in the press conference which followed the chaotic episode in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Speaking on the issue, Isnaraissah asked if it was not enough for the oil and gas company’s assets to have been seized.
“What I want is a firm stance that we will be fighting this demand, after all.
“This was rejected again - that's why I asked in the Dewan Rakyat earlier. To what extent will the Dewan Rakyat allow us to discuss the issue?
“Is it not enough yet for the Petronas assets to be confiscated? What else are we waiting for to go missing?” she said today.
She expressed concern over the government’s actions hitherto, which includes the delay in sending out the stay of execution in July.
The arbitration ruling in favour of the Sulu Sultanate’s heirs had been handed on Feb 28, 2022.
She told reporters that the motion to debate the issue in the Dewan Rakyat will be sent for the fourth time, before calling on the motion to be expedited.
Sulu heirs strike back
Last week, London-based Financial Times reported that the purported heirs of the Sulu sultanate, who are claiming US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) from Malaysia, seized two Luxembourg-incorporated subsidiaries of Petronas.
Lawyers of the claimants seized Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and Petronas South Caucasus, reportedly worth US$2 billion.
The lawyers said bailiffs in Luxembourg seized the holding companies on behalf of their clients yesterday.
The purported descendants of the last Sulu sultan, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, are claiming the astronomical sum from Malaysia following an arbitration process.
The arbitration process was initiated in response to Malaysia cutting off annual lease payments of RM5,300 to the Sulu sultanate in 2013 in the wake of a bloody incursion in Lahad Datu in eastern Sabah by a militant group from the Philippines claiming to represent the Sulu sultanate.
It resulted in 57 militants killed, together with six civilians and 10 members of Malaysian security forces.
According to a separate Financial Times report yesterday, the purported descendants' legal effort now costs in excess of US$10 million (RM44.5 million) and is being bankrolled by the London-based investment and litigation fund Therium.
Malaysia did not participate in the arbitration process in France, arguing that the dispute between Malaysia and the claimants was not a commercial contract and thus not subject to arbitration. - Mkini
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