KUALA LUMPUR: The French court will decide tomorrow whether the purported partial award demanded by the self-proclaimed descendants of the last sultan of Sulu against Malaysia would be enforced, Putrajaya said.
According to the Special Secretariat on Sulu Claims, Malaysia will also continue to take measures to further strengthen its sovereign immunity, Bernama reported.
The secretariat will also engage stakeholders in its pursuit of upholding the sanctity of arbitration internationally over the claim by the so-called heirs.
Just two days ago, the government dismissed the allegation that it “purposely failed” to comply with a demand to pay US$16.4 billion to the self-proclaimed descendants of the last sultan of Sulu.
The allegation was made in a letter from Paul Cohen, a lawyer representing the Sulu heirs, to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on May 29.
The AGC said Cohen’s allegations were “obviously false” and “a clear blatant disregard” of the facts of the case.
Annual payments of RM5,300 to the descendants of the Sulu sultan were discontinued by Malaysia after an armed group landed in Lahad Datu in 2013 to pursue a claim of sovereignty over Sabah.
A legal firm in London, representing a group of nine people based in the Philippines, had filed a series of legal suits against the government following a US$15 billion arbitration claim it obtained against Malaysia.
In February 2022, a French arbitration court instructed Putrajaya to pay US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) to these self-proclaimed descendants of the last sultan of Sulu.
Malaysia challenged the arbitration order in France and Spain. A French court granted a stay order on the award, pending a decision on Malaysia’s claim that the order infringed its sovereignty over Sabah. - FMT
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