The Sabah issue has painstakingly dragged the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo in unending woe over attempt to claim a lost territory believed illegally occupied by Malaysia. However, despite efforts to regain the land through legal means and peaceful process, the endeavor has remained fruitless until today.
Heirs to the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo has attempted a number of times seeking Malaysia’s attention to resolve the issue asking to return Sabah to its rightful owner- the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo-but no amount of influence was given to the chagrin of the claimants. Malaysia is obstinate on the issue and the claimant’s unwavering struggle continues seemingly hooked in a landlord-tenant dilemma.
History narrates that Sabah or North Borneo and the Island of Palawan were bestowed as gifts to the Sultan of Sulu by a Brunei Sultan in 1658 in gratitude for the assistance of the Sulu sultan to avert a civil war in Borneo. North Borneo then was part of the early kingdom of Brunei. By virtue of this act, Sabah became a property of the Sultan of Sulu and the Sultanate of Sulu.
In 1878, His Majesty, Sultan Jamalul A’lam Kiram, (Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo) being a legitimate owner, leased North Borneo now Sabah to a British company of Gustavus Baron De Overbeck and Alfred Dent for their use and their heirs but the Lease prohibits the transfer of Sabah to any nation, company or individual without consent of His Majesty’s government (Government of the Sultan of Sulu).
The transfer of Sabah by Great Britain to Malaysia in 1963 constituted a breach of the provisions of the 1878 Lease as the Government of the Sulu sultan did not consent to its transfer to Malaysia. As a point in law, Sabah must and should be returned to the Lessor, the Sultan of Sulu and the Sultanate of Sulu.
History again tells that in 1906 and 1920, the United States formally reminded Great Britain that Sabah did not belong to Great Britain and was still part of the Sultanate of Sulu. However, Great Britain ignored and did not listen to the US reminder and did the transfer of Sabah to Malaysia in 1963. This transfer is prohibited under the Sabah Lease of 1878. The continued occupation of Sabah by Malaysia is illegal and a blatant violation of the Lease and must end accordingly.
Malaysia according to the sultans pays the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu a very small annual rent of Php 77,442.36 or US$ 1,500 for Sabah, a real estate property with a land area of 73,711 square kilometers. This small yearly rent is unjust, unfair and is unacceptable, the heirs said.
Sabah contributes US$30 billion GDP to the Malaysian economy annually and looking at fair commercial rental property transactions the Lessor can expect to receive rental payment of at least 10% to 12% or US$ 3 billion to US 3.6 billion per year from the Tenant, the heirs alleged.
However, the Lessor only received a meager US$1,500 per year, thus, the Malaysian payment needs to be discussed and re-negotiated to the satisfaction of all concerned, the heirs stressed.
Meanwhile, the unfair and unjust treatment of the Malaysian government towards the issue, Sabah owners regarded the act as Un-Islamic and Haram. While the lack of economic developments in the Sultanate of Sulu and also in Sabah had made many pro independence groups to advocate the independence move of Sulu and Sabah, the heirs said.
They said that Malaysia is a Muslim nation that grabs Sabah, the land owned by Muslims from the Sultanate of Sulu. Malaysia’s land-grabbing of Sabah is betrayal of Islam and of the norms of civilized society, the heirs added.
Meanwhile, one of the Sultans, HM Sultan Muhammad Fuad A. Kiram I in his web page said that if Malaysia wants to stay in Sabah lawfully, then Malaysia must pay the correct and proper amount of rent of US$ 3.6 billion per year. If the rental payment is not acceptable, he proposes for “Joint Administration“between the Sultan of Sulu and Malaysia to administer Sabah and all incomes derived should be split co-equally, similar to the joint administration or “Condominium of France and Great Britain in Vanuatu” prior to Vanuatu’s independence.
He added that income to be derived from Sabah rent or Joint Administration will be used to develop Sulu and to uplift the welfare of the Sulu people with roads, hospitals, medicines, education, peace and order etc. The correct rent payment by Malaysia to the Sultanate of Sulu and/or the Joint Administration of Sabah will be the solution to the Sabah issue. In any joint Administration the Sultanate of Sulu will insist that 50% of the earnings will be for Sabah people’s social and economic development and 25% each for Malaysia and the Sultanate of Sulu.
“If the rental payment or Joint Administration is not acceptable then Malaysia must vacate Sabah and return Sabah to the lawful owners – the people of the Sultanate of Sulu,” the sultan stressed.
"These are three (3) options available to resolve the Sabah illegal occupation by Malaysia," the Sultan added.
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