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Sabah never belonged to Sulu

KOTA KINABALU, April 4, 2022: Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee said there was a misconception and mistaken narrative that Sabah used to belong to Sulu.

Sabah never belonged to Sulu as was proven by the weight of evidence, treaties, documents and history according to the research by historian Shari, he added.

Speaking at the online forum hosted jointly by Sabah Law Society with the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee on the Philippines/Sulu Claim to Sabah, Yong claimed that Sabah was actually ceded by Brunei to Overbeck in 1877, then to the British North Borneo Chartered Company in 1881 and was surrendered to Japanese Occupation in 1943. In 1945, Sabah was under the British Military Occupation after the war and became a British colony in 1946. Sabah then was part of Malaysia when they formed the nation in 1963 as partners.

Yong, who is Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President, said we must aggressively, consistently, continuously continue to correct the incomplete and mistaken narrative that Sabah used to belong to Sulu.

“In fact, Sulu had no legal and political basis to cede or even to lease North Borneo (Sabah) to anyone because Sulu never owned North Borneo (Nemo Dat rule).

Yong said there were two aspects of the Philippines/Sulu claim. The Philippines claim sovereignty over Sabah and Sulu/Kiram claim for money.

He said Malaysia’s approach has always been “Don’t talk about the Philippines/Sulu claim because the more we talk about it, the more legitimacy we give to the claim”. “Has Malaysia been too cautious or been negligent?” he asked.

“Philippines/Sulu claimants have been raising the issue, hence raising the (false) hopes of the Filipinos that one day, Sabah will become part of the Philippines.

A 20-second cut video clip on a senatorial debate in Philippines showed clearly the claim (that Sabah belongs to the Philippines) was still being raised as one of their highlighted issues in its debate. This particular topic (Sulu Claim) will never be missed come each election.

Depicting Sabah as 13th State of Philippines, birth certificates issued by the Sultanate of Sulu issued to persons born in Sabah and a Sabah map in Philippines passport has the effect to further embolden Filipino illegal immigrants to remain in Sabah. Also the belief that they are entitled to be in Malaysia Sabah and resistance to deportations stronger, said Yong.

Yong said that the Philippines 1987 Revised Constitution has in fact dropped the Sabah Claim. The key change in the 1987 constitution was discussed in (The New Constitution of the Philippines, Annotated 1997 Revised Constitution) which Yong referred were as follows – the definition in the 1987 constitution deleted the words “all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title”, and instead the words to “all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction”. He further quoted as written on page 154, “thereby eliminating an express basis for our claim over Sabah for at any rate, we are not precluded to pursue such claim under international law”.

Yong said hence, by pursuing “under international law” the Philippines attempt in February and March 2001 by way of applying to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to intervene in the case of Pulau Ligitan/Pulau Sipadan between Indonesia and Malaysia.

“The Philippines intervention at ICJ was discussed in Tan Sri Gani Patail’s book “PUTTING TO REST the claim to Sabah by the self-proclaimed Sultanate of Sulu, published in the aftermath of the infamous Tanduo intrusion.

However, the application for intervention at ICJ on Pulau Ligitan/Pulau Sipadan case was thrown out during the ICJ judgment in October 2001 on the grounds that “the Philippines has not yet established an interest of a legal nature”.

“The above ICJ process has therefore put the final nail in the coffin of any remaining (false) hopes of the Philippines/Sulu to pursue the claim under international law,” Yong said.

Yong said that the relevant fact is that the Philippines, in doing its utmost best at the ICJ, had relied on 1878 Sulu-Overbeck Grants as its primal source of title in North Borneo. There is no other document or sources that support or collaborate the Philippines/Sulu claim. Hence, the primal source has been completely demolished by documentary evidence in the form of treaties and documents.

Other guests who presented their papers at the webinar included Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, Professor Dr Colin Ong QC (Queen Counsel), Professor Dr Haji Amde Sidik (Professor in the field of Political History) and banker Shari Jeffri (historian).

SAPP Media