Malaysia rejects more 'frivolous' claims over Sabah - minister

Malaysia rejects what it terms as frivolous claims by the United Tausug Citizens (UTC), which claim to be the “rightful custodians of the Sultanate of Sulu Territory” over Sabah.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said said this, adding that the group demanded for Malaysia to pay US$5 billion (RM23.4 billion) in “cession money”.

She said they also sought recognition of UTC as a “sovereign and independent state kingdom” and threatened to take legal action against Malaysia in the United States.

“This represents the latest frivolous and baseless attempt by a group to claim sovereignty over Malaysian territory and to extort unfounded payments from Malaysia,” she said in a statement today.

Azalina also highlighted that Malaysia is successfully defeating across Europe a similar attempt by the self-proclaimed heirs of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II based on a fraudulent arbitration award issued by rogue arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa.

“The Sulu Sultanate has been defunct for several decades and is not recognised by any sovereign state or international organisation,” she said.

Moreover, she highlighted the recent conviction of Stampa by a Madrid Criminal Court to six months imprisonment and one-year disqualification from practising as an arbitrator.

This, she said, confirms the criminal abuse of the arbitral processes and gross injustices suffered by Malaysia as a result of the Sulu case.

Azalina reaffirmed Malaysia’s steadfast stance on Sabah, stressing that the government has once again emphasised that the exercise of self-determination by Sabah to become part of Malaysia has been a settled legal fact since decolonisation in 1963. Since then, Sabah has been an integral part of Malaysia.

In light of these developments, the minister underscored that the international commercial arbitration system is an important mechanism within global dispute resolution and it must be protected from such illegitimate attempts to extort sovereign states under the guise of arbitration claims.

“The government of Malaysia is actively looking at all possible legal remedies against any frivolous claims to defend its sovereignty, security, and interests at all times,” she said.

- Bernama