Fuad A Kiram’s legal team has rubbished the Malaysian government’s claim that the alleged Sulu sultanate heir is a terrorist.
United Kingdom-based lawyer Paul Cohen claimed that the allegation was cooked up due to Malaysia being on the losing end of the multinational jurisdiction legal battle against Fuad (above) and other alleged Sulu heirs over the claim for US$14.92 billion (RM65.88 billion) from the Southeast Asian nation.
“Of course, Fuad Kiram is no terrorist. And of course, Malaysia knows this. No less a figure than former (Malaysian) attorney-general Tommy Thomas has conceded as much. Malaysia just made this up in desperation because every other trick is failing.
“Malaysia has taken a year to focus on the fact that it lost the arbitration, pretending it was not happening. It will lose the subsequent enforcement process.
“Now it has invented an accusation of ‘terrorism’ and is embarking on a campaign to try to use political tools to pressure foreign courts.
“This might work in Malaysia or Russia, but I feel sorry for Malaysia's lawyers in France and the Netherlands trying to explain it to a judge,” Cohen said in an email to Malaysiakini recently.
In response to Cohen, Thomas denied his claims.
"What Cohen says is completely untrue and is denied. He is an enemy of Malaysia, as I previously stated," Thomas told Malaysiakini in a brief message.
Arbitration award
Cohen was responding to Malaysia’s declaration two days ago that Fuad was a terrorist.
According to Khairul Dzaimee Daud, who is director-general of the Prime Minister Department’s Legal Affairs Division, the decision against Fuad was made over his alleged role in the Lahad Datu insurgency in Sabah 10 years ago.
“The government recently classified one of the claimants in the suit as a terrorist.
“He is Fuad A Kiram, who was involved in (the armed insurgency) case at Kampung Tanduo.
“The individual was classified as a terrorist on April 6 under Section 66 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001,” Khairul said.
The purported heirs of the last sultan of Sulu won a US$15 billion (RM67 billion) arbitration award on an ex-parte (one-sided) basis in a French court last year.
The legal feud between the heirs and Malaysia is related to a 145-year-old agreement inked by the then-Sulu sultan that granted sovereign rights to parts of Sabah today, in return for an annual token payment of RM5,300.
Malaysia had stopped the payments in 2013 under Najib Abdul Razak’s administration following the armed incursion of Lahad Datu by more than 200 militants - believed to be linked to the Sulu sultanate. - Mkini
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