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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-8/sabah-sulu.webp" alt="Sabah despute" />
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(Sabah)
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The deal should have been the basis of a yearly compensation that Malaysia pays the Sulu Sultanate. The Philippines used it as an argument for its claim over Sabah.


Malaysia interprets the deal not as lease but as cession, however.


Special Ambassador to Malaysia Wencelito Andanar said the original document for the lease provided for an equivalent of 5,000 Mexican gold bullion a year. But this was reduced later on to 5,000 Malaysian ringgit when Sabah was annexed by the Federation of Malaysia.

The yearly remittance had stopped apparently as part of punitive actions by taken by Malaysia on the 2013 incursion by the Sultan's followers of Lahad Datu. It resulted in some 63 deaths to the loyalists of the late Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram.


The specified lease in gold, has been valued by a member of the Sultanate at P775 million a year, compared to P57,900 based on the Malaysian currency's value.


Andanar said the stipend symbolized the goodwill of the Malaysian government which recognized the proprietary right of the Sulu heirs.

<h3>
Game of Sultans
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In 1640, Spain entered into a treaty with the Sultans of Sulu and Maguindanao recognizing the independence of the two sultanates. It made the Sulu sultan the sovereign ruler of Sabah.


A 10-year civil war then broke out in Brunei between two sultans, one of whom, Sultan Muaddin, sought military aid from the Sulu ruler. In 1675, the Brunei civil war ended, and the victor Muaddin ceded Sabah to the Sulu sultan.


In 1877, a private syndicate or company obtained land grants from the Brunei and Sulu sultans. In 1878, the Sulu sultan entered into a deed of pajak, written in Arabic, with an Austrian named Gustavus Baron de Overbeck and an Englishman named Alfred Dent as representatives of what later on became BNBC.



That's where the problem started. In 1946, Prof. Harold Conklin translated the term pajak as "lease" since the 1878 Deed provided for an annual rental.


Malaysia, however, insisted that it meant surrender of territory.


Andanar also called the lease "too small."


The Malaysian government should have even increased the lease to show goodwill, he added. He pointed out that no less than the British Session Court of North Borneo upheld in 1939 the proprietary rights of the Sulu heirs.


The Supreme Court also ruled in 2011 that the disputed territory is part of the Philippines.

<h3>
Negotiation right track
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The special envoy, however, said that to maintain the cordial relations between both countries, the Sabah issue may be discussed bilaterally instead of elevating the case to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, The Netherlands — the direction taken by former President Benigno Aquino III on the West Philippine Sea dispute with China.


Andanar noted that Malaysia may choose to adopt China's strategy of not recognizing the arbitration proceeding.


"Malaysia might not participate and not recognize any ruling of the international tribunal," he said.


The special envoy expressed hope that possible discussions to seek a "win-win" compromise that benefit both the Philippines and Malaysia may start this year.


Despite its inclusion in the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Filipinos still comprise one fourth of the island's population.


Filipinos in Sabah are mostly Tausugs who hold on to the traditional practices and beliefs handed down for generations by their ancestors who settled in the disputed territory.



"If you go to Sabah you can feel the Filipino atmosphere, you meet and see lot Filipinos all over," Andanar said.

<h3>
Gov't actions until Arroyo
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In 1961, then President Diosdado Macapagal filed the Philippine claim to Sabah.


The next year, at the UN General Assembly, then Philippine Vice President Emmmanuel Pelaez sought a peaceful resolution to the Sabah issue.


In 1962, the Sulu heirs issued "Recognition and authority in favor of the Republic of the Philippines," which ceded and transferred Sabah to the Philippines.


The government then accepted the cession of sovereignty made by the Sulu sultan.


The heirs were able to meet President Corazon Aquino, who advised the group to organize themselves.


In 1986, she asked the Malaysian prime ministers to increase the lease payment.


However, Malaysia contended that in 1989, the sultan's heirs revoked their authorization issued to the government as their representative.


In 2001, an heir sent another demand letter for an increase in lease payments.


In 2008, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued the "Guidelines on Matters Pertaining to Sabah," which required any official activity related to Sabah to first obtain clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.


In 2009, President Arroyo signed the new law on the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines.


This law was upheld in 2011 by the Supreme Court, which categorically stated that the Philippines retains its claim to Sabah.



In 2013, the Lahad Datu skirmish occurred between Malaysian forces and the Royal Army of Sulu composed of poorly armed followers of Kiram.


Instead of calling for a negotiation, then President Aquino merely acquiesced to the directives of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He even admonished the Sultan's loyalists and ordered them to return to the Philippines.

<h3>
Claim remains
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Andanar echoed a statement of Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy" Locsin Jr. stressing that "legally Sabah is part of the Philippine territory now occupied Malaysia."


"Secretary Locsin was right, and no less than President Duterte during the 2016 political campaign declared that Sabah is part of the Philippine territory," Andanar told Daily Tribune in a telephone interview.


Locsin, in a tweet, reminded the US Embassy that the Sabah question has yet to be settled in reference to a photo release that labeled Sabah as part of Malaysia.


Andanar referred to the recent decision of Malaysia to cut off its yearly lease payment as being "uncalled for, had reopened old political wounds and revived the long dormant claim of the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu."



Sources:
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<li>
Malaysia owes Phl P1 trillion, <a href="https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2020/07/30/malaysia-owes-phl-p1-trillion/" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Source">Perseus Echeminada</a>, July 30, 2020, The Daily Tribune Headlines
</li>
</ol>


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Malaysia owes the Philippines over P1 trillion in Sabah lease payments